Mirrored Waters
by atrieisan
Summary: Danny Fenton is a human, turned deep water mer by a deal gone wrong. Forced on a mission by the Sea Witch that had turned him, he has to travel into the shallows in search of ingredients. Phantom is a reef mer, familiar with humans, and outcast by his own kind. And by chance, they meet. This is a collaborative RP fic between myself and BubblewithWings on Deviant art.
1. Dark Water Mer

Xx-xX

Mirrored Waters

Chapter 1:

Dark Water Mer

The tide churned as the tug and pull of waves could be felt in the shallows below the surface. The water lulling in great tumbling circles along the rocky reefs, shellfish sprawled open, eager to catch their meal as it swashed by. It left a colorful array of corals and other sea life running about in the midday squall, enjoying the bounty the equator's summer sun provided.

The hustle and bustle of the reef was mostly ignored by one of its inhabitants; having grown used to the rough tides and overall oceanic noise, attempting to nap within a sand bed between the rocks. Despite the activity, it was a relatively mellow day out, the tide was high, and the seas were overall calm; perfect napping weather as far as the jet black mer was concerned. He'd only rolled over once, swatting at a few pestilent crabs before attempting to doze off again.

He was still full from raiding the nearby lobster traps. Most of his kind just stared at him awkwardly the first time he'd made off with his catch, finding the whole concept of eating the sea's equivalent of a cockroach a bit too much for their stomachs. He'd simply ignored them as a result; they seemed fine doing the same most of the time, and in some sense he was happy with it that way. That and most of them didn't go as far into the shallows as he dared to go. He'd impressed them once, when he'd dragged off an unfortunate monkey towards the mangrove swamps, something most considered suicidal.. if the tide went out, one would be stranded there. It had still been a decent meal...

Phantom found himself pulled out of his sleepy thoughts by the shift in the water. The vibrations running along the lateral line caused him to stir with great irritation. From the way the water displaced, it was a decent sized animal, Shark? No... it didn't move like one... A frown reached his lips as he picked himself up, ears laid flat against the sides of his head, luminescent orbs glowering out across the waters.

Danny wouldn't lie to himself. He was terrified about swimming above the sea's middle line. The others had warned him about how it was incredibly dangerous for a deep sea mer to swim above what was considered to be "their" territory if it wasn't during a storm. He fluttered about nervously, his pearl black tail twitching just as anxious as he was. He let out a deep breath and wished again that his vocal cords could produce some type of sound.

He continued swimming forward, occasionally having to use his arms to propel him forward. Danny was still annoyed at how he still found it a bit difficult to navigate. The races and practice he got with the others of the group was helpful but he couldn't swim as fast as them yet. Why the Sea Witch had given this task to him was beyond his comprehension.

Danny blinked his eyes a few times as the water seemed to grow brighter the farther up he went. He adjusted the satchel on his shoulder, which looked like it had been made from fishing nets, as he picked up the pace.

He gasped in disbelief as he caught sight of the brilliant coral reef that he had traveled for some time to reach. He looked down at himself and blushed in shame. He obviously didn't belong here... The waters were also much... warmer somehow, and shifting constantly. Nothing like the deep seas which there was no actual current until someone actually moved.

He shook it off. He was here for a reason. He carefully made his way to the edge of the reef and let his eyes dart side to side. He was too new of a sea creature to detect the change in tides, especially in waters as mobile as these.

Danny dug into the net and pulled out a small piece of what he was supposed to be looking for. It was a piece of coral, hardened and chipping, no doubt from the fact that it was extremely old. The boy shook his head in frustration as his earrings nearly got caught on one of the twig like branches of a nearby coral. He huffed silently at the reminder of the fact that his ears were so much larger than before.

Well, at least he didn't have a type of dorsal fin attached to his back like the others did; they looked more like wings to him but it wasn't like he could say anything... That would have been such a pain.

Hmmm... so the coral was supposed to be white... probably near transparent...

Phantom shifted silently over the rocks, form moving like a shark as he glided through the waters with trained ease. His sharp jagged edged fins resisted or gave to the current as he turned about, eyes scanning for the source of the disturbance. He let himself settle upon a darker patch of rock, fins laid back, form still as his gaze caught sight of the interloper.

Originally, upon sensing the movement of the young mer, he'd bristled for a fight, expecting one of the older males attempting to chase him off again to no avail. But upon finding a much younger male, let alone such an odd looking one, it left him stumbling over his own train of thought.

He'd never seen another mer with jet black scales, some came close, but their fins were always vibrant shades of color. The boy, not fifty feet off, was pitch black, fins and all, though his scales seemed to abruptly shift into the finer sheen of skin far quicker than his own. He looked far too vulnerable to be out among the rocky reefs, yet old enough to where he wondered what trick the stranger had to live so long unprotected. That was only some of the oddities; aside from the child's foraging amidst the plant life in search of god knows what...

He'd planned on screeching and chasing the child off at first thought. But the longer he stared over at the boy, the more he felt himself confused. He acted too much like a human, but smelled like a mer. And with scales so dark, the thought of him being an outcast scavenging for an easy meal like himself at that age hung heavily in his chest. It left him curious... to where he lifted his head up off the rocks, out of his original stalking pose, to lay casually, in complete view, watching him, giving only a slap of his tail as an indication of his presence. In some sense, he looked like an older, aloof teenager giving an awkward hello.

The boy was abruptly brought out of his musing when he heard a small pang vibrate through him. His senses heightened, he immediately made to remove himself from the reef as to be able to fight in an open space if needed.

He was completely taken back by the male merman, obviously much older than he, lay seemingly relaxed on the reef he had been examining only moments earlier. The mer... didn't look anything like he imagined another would look. He had heard tales of sickening colorful tales filled with blues, reds... similar to the colors on the reefs in which some lived. But this one... was incredibly pale, and his tail was dark, not as dark as his own but it actually looked quite natural compared to the youngers own colors. He had bright green eyes similar to someone he truly didn't want to think about and white hair that was tied in the back.

The fact that he hadn't been able to tell that the other was there bothered him greatly. Had it been any other... he would imagine that he would be near death at that moment. But this didn't relax him, in fact in made him even tenser. The fins on the sides of his head expanded as they shook slightly, giving off a vibration and eyes dilating in a manner that an animal's would when feeling threatened.

How was he going to get out of this? Yes, he had been training with the others; more like them trying to make a bloody canvas out of his body; but how could play fighting compare with the actual thing? Let alone an adult who's probably hardened his skills and has an extra layer of skin for this.  
He cautiously examined the other's tail, trying to wonder if he could manage to somehow outswim the elder. Probably not judging by the fact that his own tail was not only too long; it allowed to move in more fluid and flexible movements but it did nothing for speed; that and the others was obviously more mature and would be much stronger.

He'd only ever really fought with one mer and the other youth was around Danny's age... Simple to say that he was screwed.

A disgruntled response was all older mer gave towards the boy's sudden fear. His nose scrunching up for a brief moment before his ears flattened themselves and a frown creased over his own lips. In some sense he'd expected the reaction, but hoped he wouldn't see it. Younger mers ran when they saw him, whilst older ones would take the fight option over flight, though he was too keen on either at that moment.

He simply shook his head, both bemused and annoyed, then again he figured as much. He'd made a reputation along the reef as a predator, and most of the time preferred to keep it that way. However it did have its downfalls; like situations like these.

Picking himself up, fins extending, revealing the full size of his double sailed dorsal fin; he simply hopped upwards with a spring of his arms, form catching in the current and casting him a few feet up before he oriented himself. A mild flick of his tail had him almost directly in front of the young mer's face, pupils narrowed into analytical slits.

He circled the boy once, twice, before settling with patting the child's head and floating a few feet off, seeming disinterested, taking to prodding about to reef. At the very least it was apparent that this older mer didn't have any interest in fighting. Either way, Phantom was attempting to appear interested in something else, a sign that he was still watching him, but wasn't going to make any move at him unless provoked. It was at that moment he'd found what he'd been looking for, yanking a rather unhappy crab from its hiding place. Gnawing on a leg he'd pulled off with one hand, whilst offering the remaining animal. He wasn't really hungry anyways.

Danny had been incredibly surprised and nearly flipped himself over when the other mer came towards him. The size of the other terrified him. Fenton was so... small compared to the other. He forced himself to stay still when the other circled him and was completely taken aback when he was patted on the head, like a small child...

Well, he probably was to the other...

He watched the other take off, swimming around the reef, now ignoring him. It confused the darker scaled mer greatly. Why wasn't the other attacking him? As Danny examined the older mer closer he realized that the other didn't have much coloring on him. That was right... he didn't have bright colors like what he was told the upper sea mers had, not a single color at all. Perhaps he wasn't part of the upper sea shoal? But... then how had he survived so long without someone killing him? He didn't have any jewelry or gold bands to show that he was of the servant or slave shiver... He didn't even have any jewels on him!

Danny's tail flicked nervously as he looked around. He should just get what he came for and leave. Yes, that was what he should do. As he made a move closer to another colony of corals he saw something being offered his way. It was a crab, still moving, barely, with one of its legs torn off. The younger tilted his head in a boyish manner as he took the crab carefully, mindful of his long nails. He did not want to make an enemy out of anyone, especially over something as stupid as scratching the other.

The blue eyed boy looked down in distaste. Ever since he had become like this he had refrained from eating anything other than seaweed, and even that was starting to make him sick; he was getting skinny... The others were constantly complaining about how he was being stubborn. His kind was meant for digging claws into much more vicious prey too...

Danny glanced at the other, his tail flickering a bit, light shining on the obsidian black tail contrasting with the gold bands jingling at the narrow part of his tail. He glanced back at the crab before twisting its leg off and sticking the end in his mouth, sucking on it a bit. His eyes bugged a bit as his lip trembled. Before he could stop himself had swallowed the leg whole and was starting on the rest of the crab. He was just so hungry...

When he was knocked out of the eating frenzy he looked down at the remaining shell in his hand. He hadn't realized that his hunger had gotten this bad... If he kept up like this... he might be gnawing on human flesh next time... Suddenly feeling a bit disgusted he let go of the remains of the crab before looking back to the reef. He needed to get back to the shiver soon or... he didn't want to think what might happen if his "master" thought he was trying to run away.

He quickly started back on his search, nimbly swimming over a colony of bright corals, some of them transparent, which he picked up and examined carefully before putting down. Was the witch sure that the colony of the specific coral still existed here?

Phantom simply quirked a brow at the boys sudden feeding frenzy. Though in some sense he'd almost expected it, having figured the boy was similar to himself, outcast and hungry; and judging from the young mer's build, he wasn't built for speed, nimble on gentle currents maybe, but a rough day on the tide would have him spinning with such small fins.

He simply shook his head, slightly amused before turning and floating along the reef. True, the child had seemed a bit reluctant to take his offering, but the fact that he did meant he wasn't here to challenge him for his turf, or that he was going to flee in panic of his presence. And considering the child reminded him so much of himself at that age, albeit more skittish, was probably one of the reasons he held such a soft spot for the young mer.

Another strong flick of his tail had him diving into the deeper edge of the reef, scanning along the bottom until he'd found what he was looking for. Picking up the old lobster trap, still successful with its angry quarry inside, he carried it back up towards the reefs surface, only to find the boy foraging again. He tilted his head to one side, seeming relatively confused at the action, wondering if the young male had similar eating habits to his mate. Though having seen the child's hunger first hand, he doubted the boy wasn't still hungry; mer's could eat almost half their weight if they truly wanted to, and a crab the size he'd given was merely a snack.

Bringing himself over, he came to hover a few feet off, hands still clinging to the trap as he watched the boy scrounging about, searching the coral with a look of disappointment and anxiety, as if searching for something lost. He merely frowned at this before closing the distance and offering the trap over to him, the two lobsters within giving a cranky snap of their claws at being jostled about. A raised brow his question on whether or not the boy was going to take it from him or not. Deciding on setting it down in front of him, he then turned, and swam off a few paces. However, he'd made no motion to leave, giving a surprisingly human gesture with his arms, signaling follow me, before diving over a bed of coral and further into the reef.

Danny had been starting to panic after a while of searching. It wasn't here. It wasn't here. It wasn't here! The witch would have his head if he came back empty handed. She would also have his head if he didn't come back at all.

Due to his slight panic he didn't notice the lobsters until one snapped at the edge of his tail. The boy opened his mouth in a silent shout of surprise as his expression grew irritated and with a quick flick of his tail he had slammed the set against a nearby coral.

He looked down to see his tail relatively unharmed and he glared at the offending lobsters. He then noticed that they were in one of those traps that he remembered seeing his parents carry around with them whenever they went off to sea. …Was the trap human made?... He looked confused for a second before he turned around to see the previously ignored mer beckoning to him, motioning for the other to follow him.

Danny blinked. The black haired boy had established that the other did not want to hurt him, if the elder did, he would have done it by now. And then there was the fact that he offered the younger food.

But was it safe to follow him? … What if it was a trap?

However the others face revealed no malicious intent and it made him wonder if the other wanted to play. He looked back to the reef he was looking at and then back to the pale skinned male. Danny sighed silently. It wasn't like his life could get any worse. Besides, maybe he could find the coral he was looking for if he followed the other.

He looked back to the lobsters and carefully picked them up, whacking them as payback for nearly clipping his tail. He went over to the other, his tail making a strange loop as he did so before holding out the lobsters in a gesture that said 'I believe that you dropped something'

Phantom paused, letting his tail stir the sand, waiting a brief moment to determine whether or not the other was following him. He'd heard the clatter of the trap being smacked, wondering if he'd gone too far with the action, but upon seeing the younger mer swimming up to him, trap in hand, he couldn't help but be amused.  
When he offered the trap to him, he simply grinned and brought his hand up to tap his lips with his fingertips. The gesture was very clear, and extremely human. …The older mer knew sign language…. Though how he'd learned it wasn't clear, it was becoming more and more understood that this stranger had some sort of affiliation with humans. Either way, it simply meant that he'd given the boy a free lunch.

Phantom just shook his head at the youth's expression. In some sense this youngster seemed far too inexperienced for his age and he was beginning to wonder how he'd lived this long. His mind wandered over the possibility of his affiliation with the dark water mers, whom were said to be clad in jewels much like he was. But letting the thought mull over, he swam down along the reef and into what seemed almost like a deep water lagoon.

The tide had stilled a bit letting the warmth of the sun truly shine through into the crystal clear waters. The added warmth having cause the patches of reef to spring into even brighter larger stretches of color, intermixed with sea grass, leading down to a bowl like sand and weed bottom, almost like an underwater meadow in the midst of the rocks and coral.

Along the edge of the reef leading into the 'bowl' he'd paused, his ears shifting slightly as if looking for something. Once they fixed on a particular direction, he faced it, and let out a long guttural cry. The sound vibrating the water in a manner similar to that of a whale, but obviously from a smaller creature, there was no doubt that the sound carried for miles.

But it wasn't as if he was up to anything. The sound was simply his way of calling home, as after a moment's pause, a single call was returned from somewhere out in the meadow, shorter, and higher pitched sound. In some sense the returning call didn't sound quite right, but the older mer didn't look in the least bit perturbed, as if the strangled noise was a normal thing. If anything, phantom looked more amused and trying not to laugh at the sound that had reached his ears, his mate was still figuring everything out, he knew, and she wasn't quite to the point of mimicking the sounds of the warm water mers. All that really mattered was that the sound returned was a sign she knew he was there, and that she was safe.

He gave a curt nod to the youth before entering into the gentle confines of the sea grass. The rough motions of his tail having shifted into a calmer wave as the current here had stilled into a gentle breeze. His ears pricked as he listened for the familial sound of quipped squeaks, a grin growing ever present on his face.  
Turning the corner of the rock face, they came into view of a small cave with a large sandy pavilion in the front. A female lay stretched out, basking on the sand, deep purple scales traced along her form, complimenting lavender fins and violet eyes. She seemed unwilling to get up from the comfort of her resting place, but her eyes held enough of a greeting in them. However, upon seeing the youth behind him, her eyes narrowed, head raised as she looked up at them, scrutinizing the newcomer for any sign of threat.

"Who's he?" The words passed over her lips with a silken, but wavering threat.

"..pup." The older mer simply shrugged. Even the single word by itself showed evidence of how little he spoke as it rasped and twisted on itself. Yet it was still barely audible English.

She seemed to visibly relax at the nonchalant behavior of her mate, as it was clear he'd not found the boy a threat out on the reef, it held safe to believe she could respect that. Deciding to get up and greet their guest, she stretched out in a catlike manner, dorsal fin spreading for a brief moment before picking herself up and dusting off bits of sand.

"Seems he's taken a liking to you. So with that thought, can I get you anything to eat? I think I still have some tree fruit left over from yesterday." She smiled, ignoring the obvious face made by her partner.

Danny was a bit surprised at the obviously human gesture. It made him wonder if the other had any contact with humans or if he was just mimicking something he had seen.

He raised a careful eye brow before realizing that the other was offering him the lobsters as a free meal. He put a hand to his stomach and found that he couldn't bring himself to eat anymore. His stomach was too unused to food other than seaweed. He was lucky that he was able to hold the crab down. The boy held the trap awkwardly in his hand before he heard the other let out that deafening sound.

It took everything in Danny not to just bolt right then and there. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was a... oh. The other had a 'mate'? Danny blinked a few times in realization. Well, he shouldn't be so surprised but... the older mer gave off a more of a 'loner' vibe rather than someone who would be willing to settle down with another.

It was few moments later that he heard a response and cringed. The responding screech was clumsy and it spoke of unpracticed vocals; but who was he to say anything, he didn't even have his vocals anymore…. The older mer seemed to calm after hearing the reply and then proceeded to disappear into the long strands of grass. Danny quickly followed, dropping the trap in the process, not keen on being left alone.

He found that his movements were much easier to control in the calm current rather than higher above. He would have giggled had he been able to as he swerved through the grass in a serpent like motion. He turned the corner a bit too fast and had to swerve a bit in order not to injure himself.

He was caught off guard, however, when he heard a noise that sounded like a gurgled growl and slurred words. He lifted his head in slight confusion as to who could have created that sound. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of a beautiful mer woman who was lying stretched out along the sandy surface. She was giving him the wary eye whilst he seemed to bristle at the sight of a new mer. She looked something like how he expected the upper sea folk to look, but she was pretty, with a purple and black color scheme. There was something... more natural to her than the male he had just met. But... he couldn't really tell what made him think that way...

He heard the older male say something in return and Danny's face scrunched up in confusion. He couldn't understand them. How was that? Was it because... His eyes widened in realization. They knew how to speak English, a human language. Almost immediately, his ear fins sagged a bit when he realized, again, that he could no longer understand the language.

He looked up again to see the female pick herself up and smile at him. She seemed less wary of him not and opened her mouth, a set of growls and scrambled vowels that he couldn't even begin to remember how to pronounce. He blinked a few times after the other had finished before shaking his head very hesitantly, unsure as to what he was responding to. He then instead elongated his throat a bit and put his hand to where his adams apple would become more prominent as he grew older. He opened his mouth and shook his head, trying to get across that he couldn't talk, nor could he understand what they were saying.

Sam seemed to sigh at the response, from the looks of things he didn't understand a word she had said, and didn't know how to communicate it, or simply couldn't communicate back to her. Her expression hung with an air of frustration and disappointment, before shaking her head deciding on trying another method.

In the long months she'd spent growing used to the underwater world, she'd found that one of the more difficult things to learn was their language, both mind and body, and found herself staying with the default when she wasn't around them. Her mate had held a sense of understanding over the whole thing, as the time he'd spent in her world had forced him to comprehend things he otherwise shouldn't know, including human speech, albeit his attempts at it were meager. He'd become accustomed to forming signs faster than he had words, and she'd found ways of expressing herself in a similar manner to deal with her mate's handicap.

Turning back towards the cave, she shuffled about before finding what she was looking for. Setting a few of the fruits down upon the sand, she made a gesture with her hands to offer them the boy, giving a smile of reassurance, despite the look of concentration on her face. The apparent look made sense upon the next words she spoke, though they rang far clearer than what she'd been saying earlier, "_Want one?_"

Apparently speaking any underwater language was foreign to her, and she was still trying to grasp the concept of the whole thing. But for her age, at least 22, she should've known the language with practiced ease; it made as much sense as her mate using sign language, or the fact that either of them knew English.  
She was broken from her social attempts by the face her mate was making at the fruit. As much as he cared for her, and went out of his way to get such things for her, he had absolutely no taste in them, considering he was a full-fledged predator, like most mers. Sam simply frowned at him, giving a narrow eyed look that quickly resulted in the male looking far more skittish than thought possible before she sighed and gave up on scolding him over the matter.

A disgruntled sound caused both mers to turn, distracting them from the almost quarrel. The little squeak, almost more of a whimper called out as something moved in the dim. Phantom shifted slightly letting his form rest upon the sand in front of the cave, chin on his hands, giving a similar, though obviously more mature sound. His tail fin swayed slightly in a manner that reminded Sam of a dog. It was funny seeing how such a fierce and territorial male could suddenly act like a guppy.

Crawling up over the lip of the cave, poked a small black head of hair and lavender fins decorating vibrant blue scales. An infant mer, giving the constant cry, eyes barely willing to open yet. Phantom cooed again, eyes beaming with the sort of pride seen in a young father. The child in question, cooed back, scooting itself over towards the sound and feeling of warmth before it was snuggled right up into the father's face; the mother looking on with a smile, though oddly a sad one.

Danny's head tilted slightly when he saw the fruit and nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized that the other actually spoke to him. So she could speak mer, perhaps not as fluently as she should have, but it seemed to calm him down a bit knowing the fact that he could somewhat communicate with her.  
He looked down at the fruit and picked one up trying to debate on whether his stomach would allow it to stay down. He... didn't want to take the risk but to turn down such generosity would have been rude of him.

He carefully bit down on the fruit, mindful of his short fangs; he was still wondering how in the world he was supposed to eat once they grew longer, the shiver had yet to explain to him how that was supposed to work... He looked to her and smiled, hoping to express his gratitude only to find her glaring at the other mer. He nearly broke out into a coughing fit from the attempted laugh.

It was obvious who was in control of the relationship.

It was then that he heard a small cry coming from the cave. Danny looked over curiously and was surprised when a guppy….baby, he was a baby…. Young, and still hesitantly opening his eyes to the surroundings around him, crawled out of the cave and immediately started heading towards his father once he heard the other beckoning for the child with his calming voice.

Danny's heart melted almost instantly, a small smile forming on his face as he saw the father interact with the child. He had seen it many times before but it never ceased to amaze him how a child and a parent's devotion could reach so far and show so much. It really was the most precious bond anyone could ever have and hope for. The mers of the deep sea might be killers... but they loved their own very deeply. It was something, in a way, that was able to make Danny see past the blood that streaked the waters during a storm.

He looked over to the mother and, seeing her expression, frowned slightly at the sadness he found in her eyes. Was something wrong? He carefully swam over to her and put a hand over her shoulder and looked at her with a questioning gaze.

Sam sighed softly, her gaze remaining on her mate and baby. Said baby was currently gripping his father's face; father snuffing at the infant playfully. Her expression remained somber as she watched them, "_ I just wonder if I made the right decision in coming here... in doing all of this..._"

She then shook her head, attempting to erase her doubts about herself. She then turned to look over at the younger mer knowing that she should be at least hospitable.

"_ So what brings you here? I've never seen you around here before _" It was true that she was new to the ocean world, but he was the first mer she'd seen wearing jewelry. From the local reef mers, it was apparent that they didn't know of or simply had no use for such things, and yet this boy was covered in it. True she had earrings, but it was a remnant of her past, and wasn't as easily noticed.

She gave a side glance over to her mate once more, still fussing over the baby. He spent so much of his time off prowling the reef and keeping their home safe that it was a rare treat to have him spending time with their child. It was almost the opposite of how he was when she'd first met him, though it was likely due to his captivity and lack of exposure.

"_ It's rare to see him accept others. Though it's nice to see he's finally made a friend _"

Danny looked at the other curiously, wondering what she meant by that. Was she regretting choosing the other as her mate or…

He was looking at the pair of father and child when the woman commented on the fact that he was new here... He paled a bit, slightly ashamed when he saw that he had let himself relax too much. He pulled his hand from the mers shoulder, suddenly conscious of the pitch black nails attached to his fingers.

He couldn't tell if the other noticed because she was back to looking at her mate and gup-child. Danny raised an eyebrow, however, when the other mentioned that her mate had taken a liking to him. His eyebrows furrowed as he mouthed to himself, the human word 'what'. He may not be able to speak or understand the language anymore with his ears, but Danny could still physically perform the motions. You couldn't wipe away 15 years in less than a year.

But the fact that the older mer actually liked him rather than pitied him; he probably had looked pitiful now that he thought about it. He... had a slight fear of the upper sea mers, so it was strange to hear this kind of thing coming from one. The black haired mer was surprised that he hadn't bolted yet. And as in relation to her previous question, he looked around for a while before pointing over to the direction he had originally come from. Then down. He felt like he could have left the last part out.

Sam blinked, as he pointed off into the distance, her gaze following his finger into the beyond, "_Down there._"

The flicker in her eyes held a lingering curiosity, as the biologist in her had never vanished. The amount of life the oceans sustained, and the sheer variety of them held a great fascination, and the growing understanding that he was another species of mer, and that they could survive in so many places held her interest greatly. It was those kind of thoughts that brought a smile back to her face, almost like a breath of fresh air to the heavy heart she sometimes felt.

"_ It's amazing how diverse this world is._" She chuckled softly, content with the situation. It seemed there was more to learn every day, and to meet locals that weren't going to start a fight was also a nice change, "_ You must've travelled far. What brings you so far from home? Bad food?_"

She quirked a brow at him, in some sense she knew she had to keep things simple less it became too difficult for him to explain to her. Though there was also the question on whether or not she could figure out the proper syllables to make up the words she needed. In some sense she wondered if he could possibly write; despite not being able to speak, she'd noticed the motion of the soundless word. yet his skittishness warned her not to press things to far, this was a child long from home, another species that was wary of being so far up from his native habitat, she wondered how her mate had even managed to approach the kid at all.

Phantom had let out a squeak, which drew her attention only briefly. The child still clung to his face had found a means of plucking off one of its father's cheek scales. She could only shake her head before ushering him to put the child to bed before he grew irritated. It wasn't uncommon from what she'd learned, of males to grow irritable of their children, protectors they'd remain, but rarely social, so the fact that Phantom remained so content around children was honestly bewildering, unless it had to do with his own childish tendencies, having lost his own chance at truly being one.

He nodded, slightly uplifted by the fact that there was no disgust in her eyes, rather wonder. It reminded him of his own parents and their 'passion', somehow. He smiled at her response but still found it confusing the way she talked. The woman was probably born in these waters yet she seemed like she had only been here for about as long as he had. Or perhaps she was like one of those 'moderners' in the mer world who wanted nothing more than to study and record their history...  
Danny shook his head and shrugged at the question before he reached into the fishing net satchel to pull out the piece of coral that he had been assigned to find. He gave her a look that he hoped would help get across that he needed more of the coral. He hated the fact that he could barely communicate with others around him. It was one of the reasons he had a very hard time resisting being dragged everywhere.

It had taken no less than a few days for him to get to where he had been found by the other merman. It would have taken less had he been more experienced with swimming long distance… or swimming in general.

Upon noticing the older male's squawk he couldn't help but wince in empathy. He felt slightly ashamed that he had been ignoring the male in favor of 'talking' with the others mate, whilst he was being tormented by the child. By god, he really did hate when they started to grab at whatever they could. In his case, they were usually his earrings and/or his hair. But judging by the fact that the father was very minimally effected by it, it didn't look like the child would have to hide to avoid the others wrath.

Upon catching sight of the coral, her eyes seemed to spark with an utmost fascination. Taking it carefully in her hands she turned it over and over, examining it with a scientific eye, "_This is..._" From there she had rambled off into English again, mentioning a few scientific names that were of relevance, but not understood by either of the males present.

She smiled openly before handing it back, attempting to contain her inner botanist as well, "_That's very rare. Supposedly they glow in the night. I've never actually seen it in person though._"

She was tapping her fingers against her lip in thought, trying to think of any place she knew of in the vicinity that would host the unusual coral. She obviously knew what it was, albeit she knew the human name for it; and where it was supposed to grow, but hadn't seen it. Perhaps she'd been told such things? Yet she seemed to know too much for such a minor looking plant….

"_Danny, do you know anywhere around here where this plant grows?_" When she'd turned to her mate as he'd exited the cave. However he gave a reaction even she hadn't participated.

Phantom's form bristled at the sight of the small piece of translucent coral that his mate had gestured to. His fins flaring slightly and his eyes narrowed with a dangerous look in his eyes. He'd only side glanced toward his mate, when she'd repeated the question again in English. This only caused him to calm slightly, though his ears remained back. He looked most disturbed, though the look wasn't directed towards the boy in the least, but at the plant itself.

Sam was tempted to repeat the question again. He tended to move on instinct when agitated, and she wasn't quite sure what it was about it that bothered him so much. Perhaps it had to do with the location in which he'd found it?

The older male, remained where he was, still agitated, but calm enough to glance at her, then over at the boy. A serious look glinted in his emerald eyes, making them glow with an unnatural light,"._.Yes..._"

It was enough to get her to smile once more, content that he wasn't about to have a freak out over the matter. True it was unnerving how unnerved he was over such a simple, yet rare piece of fauna, but he wasn't about to start anything.

"_Think we can help him find it? He's come a long way for such a thing._" She floated over, attempting to console him a bit. But upon attempting to rest a hand on his shoulder, he'd glared up at her, causing her to flinch.

"_...No..._," he'd bared his fangs in response, before catching himself, forcing himself to calm. He took a moments breath before turning his gaze over towards the younger mer with a look of absolute seriousness, "_It's... a suicide... mission..._"


	2. Coral

Xx-xX

Chapter 2:

Coral

Danny was surprised at the others reaction (and the fact that they apparently had the same name. He hadn't seen that coming). Surely the coral couldn't have been that hard to find...

He took the dry piece back from the other and examined it over, trying to find out why the older male had gone so defensive upon seeing it.  
But the moment the other said that it was a suicide mission... it made him more tense than he already was.

The witch... couldn't have sent him all the way here in order to kill him... could she? She had paid quite a deal for him to be a part of the shiver.  
A suicide mission...?

He looked at them and gestured for one of the two to explain what exactly he had gotten into. Was it a plant found near the more shallow, human inhabited areas? Or... perhaps it was guarded by another group of animals? He honestly hoped that the elder was exaggerating on how dangerous it was.

Phantom had apparently gotten the gesture as his gaze narrowed more so than before; pupils having narrowed into slits. His form still remaining tense as his tongue rolled over the inside of his fangs, as if mulling over the words. Despite being more fluent than his mate, his isolation had made him slightly mute, and thus the words weren't always easy to grasp even if he knew perfectly what the word was, his tongue simply would refuse to form the sound.

He heaved a sigh, grimacing slightly in the seriousness of it all before attempting his best at speaking. His mate was far too new the waters to know why he'd called such a task suicide, true her past with studying plants and animals had left her knowledgeable, but not of the dangers that lurked within the waters.

"_It's... volcanic... growing... near active.. sea mounds..._" He'd practically bit his tongue as he spoke, through the strain of forcing himself to speak, as well as the clenched feeling of the muscles within his jaw. It gave him a rather sour looking face, though in some sense the message was there.

Sam's eyes widened slightly as the pieces put themselves together. The only area she'd known like that was still another day's swim off, towards the outermost edge of the southern reef. The water was heavy with gases and minerals it should not possess, and though the reef life held strong, there were rumors of its warped presence there, though she'd never had a chance to witness it herself. He'd been more than unwilling to go near there.

Danny's eyes widened at the knowledge before they looked down in contemplation. So... it's practically set of undersea volcanos? Well... crap. What was the witch thinking?! Sending him on this mission when she knew well enough that he probably wouldn't survive. His tail wouldn't be strong enough if he got caught in a strong enough current. He still had a hard time controlling his timing as well. He could accidently drive himself right into the line of there was the heat, and the components of the water in the area. He had a hard enough time breathing, what would he do if his lungs got clogged?! He increasingly became more panicked, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

But...Did he have a choice?

If he came back without, not only would he get a lashing to the back but his already minimal privileges would be revoked for who knows how long. He could be locked up in his small little cave for years if she sees it fit. And he will no longer be able to have any contact with the others. They would turn their backs on him for defying the witch's orders. Even the ones who had become good 'friends' with him. What was better. Death by trying, or complete isolation?

The boy looked at the coral in his hand and sighed silently.

Death by trying it was then.

He looked to the pair, the male in particular, and gave him a pleading look despite the sudden pang of anxiousness that went through him at seeing the other's face.  
He turned to the violet colored mer and mouthed: _Please, just point to me where I have to go._

She'd understood the silent words coming from the boy, and seeing the way the emotions played across his face left a solemn feeling in her heart. She didn't quite know why he was in search of such an apparently dangerous to obtain coral, but he was obviously desperate enough to go through with it. A sigh escaped her as she looked over him, from taking in his small, almost beaten stature, and could only wonder if he was trying to prove himself in the eyes of his peers.

"_I'm afraid I don't know where it is exactly..._ She shook her head sadly, her gaze shifting over to her mate whom still held an irritable expression upon his face. His tailfin twitched in a manner expressing his agitation, though it was almost deep in thought.

He then turned away from both of them, his gaze looking out across the rocky reefs. It was a pregnant silence between them before the older male swung, bringing his claws down upon the rock face. He held an angry huff of breath before bringing his hand back over to examine his claws; a noticeable wound left on the rocks.  
"_... I'll... take him... there..._ He let out a sigh of his own before looking over his shoulder at them. His face held a hardened resolve over the issue, something Sam knew she could not argue with.

"_You know where it is?_" She hesitated, a nervous flick of her tail one of the few signs indicating her concern.  
He paused momentarily, a distant look growing in his eyes before he turned away again. The way his shoulders hung held a look of shame to them, "_I lived there... once.._"

Danny frowned slightly when he heard the female's reply. He earnestly looked to the male in hopes that the other would know.  
The older mer's muscles were taut like a strung bow and he looked to be having an internal conflict with himself. However, once he heard those words from the elder, he had to do everything in his power to refrain from hugging the other in gratitude.

Most of the relief seemed to fade, however, when he realized that he was apparently touching upon an incredibly sensitive subject. He was usually not one to pry or question but... it looked like the upper sea mer had had a rough history with the area he wanted to go to.  
Danny's eyebrows furrowed. Well, the other could just show him the area or give directions, then the older could leave him to his own devices. It would be less pain for both of them; he didn't want to be a burden.

The boy swam up to the other and covered the mers hand with his own, giving a both gentle and reassuring smile. He shook his head, saying that he didn't need to take him anywhere. He wasn't sure if the older mer would understand him but it was worth a try...

He took the others hand and ghosted letters over the palm. The black haired boy was only learning the basics of the written language (something that the witch couldn't just poof or replace into existence). But he knew enough to write a basic sentence, assuming the other knew how to read the hieroglyphs in the first place. They roughly translated into: _Just tell me where. No need to come with. _Once he finished conveying the message he looked back up and smiled as he had before.

Phantom shook his head, but couldn't help a meek smile that had slipped onto his lips. The child was so innocent and young, and where he was intending on going, was like hell on earth. He wasn't about to let some child go someplace that the surface mers feared more than the land above.

He shook his head once more. He just wouldn't let himself put someone else in his situation. It was where he'd first been exiled upon his mother chasing him far from home, her hopes that the harsh environment would give him a quick end. He'd proven her wrong, considering he'd stood here now. That didn't mean he wanted anyone to experience that sort of place again. This child however, was determined to find this plant at all costs, despite everything it risked. It forced the question as to what was driving the poor soul on such a mission.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, before turning his gaze over towards his mate. The look in his eyes was deep, a mixture of pain but determination held strong within them. It was almost like the face of a man knowing he was headed off to war. A curt nod was his finally gesture towards her. Something she stared on with in an almost frightened understanding, returning the gesture.

He then turned towards the young mer, and oddly enough, repeated the same action he'd done when he'd met the boy only an hour before; patting the youngster's head, smiling. With this he swam off a few paces, turning to look over his shoulder for the younger to follow.

Danny was honestly surprised at the fact that the other was willing to come with him. The mer barely knew him yet he was willing to bring back bad thoughts and memories to the forefront just to help him. He wasn't used to asking favors without giving something in return. But what could he offer this couple that they did not have? He would have to think of that on the way, he supposed.

Danny quickly made way to follow the other as he led him to where he would be able to find the coral that he needed. As it was his nature, he couldn't help but feel guilty at the fearful look on the face of the male's mate. But he had to get the coral soon or he WOULD die of the lack of pressure in the upper sea. There was a reason that each shiver had a sea witch; he had somehow been "lucky" to find one of the more powerful ones to be a part of, because they couldn't travel to the surface without the protection that she offered to each of the shiver. In return, they brought her food and protected her from surrounding shivers. The pressure would cause them to literally explode. She had given him a week; which the other called 21 twists for one reason or another to complete the task. He hoped that it was enough... He also hoped that the area wasn't as bad as described. He had withstood many of the horrors of the deep seas, the animals of that world were pure brutal and dangerous. He had nearly gotten eaten himself at least ten times... he was learning fast but apparently not fast to mention that they all scared the hell out of him, especially the ones that persisted to follow him around because of the fact that certain parts of him DID glow; though it was not very noticeable in the light of the upper ocean. He couldn't count how many times he had felt teeth chomp down on his tail and side fins.

A sigh graced the phantom's lips as he continued on over the rocky reef. He'd only paused once a short ways off from the lagoon, giving one last call to his mate. It was like a sorrowful lament as she replied, wishing him safe travels among the seas. He'd not stopped moving since then, his pace wasn't his fastest, knowing the weakness of the other's tail, but that didn't keep him from trudging on for the next few hours. He'd remained silent through most of that time, likely lost in his thoughts.

It was only when he noticed the other struggling to keep up that he brought himself down upon a sand bed to let them take a breather. Giving an apologetic smile towards the younger mer, he stretched deciding that here was a safe enough place to rest for a short while. He'd not realized how much his own form ached from the trek until he'd let his muscles rest. However he found he wasn't able to lay his head down for long.

A loud ear piercing shriek was the wakeup call. A large male, rusty colored scales and brighter red fins flared at them from a few lengths off. A deep almost reptilian hiss roared from Phantoms own throat as he picked himself up, fangs barred. Oddly enough, when he'd risen up from the sand bed, the male had seemed a bit taken aback, before becoming far fiercer looking than he had earlier, as if the white haired mer's presence was far more of a threat than a simple intruder. Phantom in turn snarled, his sail unfurling slightly, but he remained reserved, not truly wanting to pick a fight with the territory holder, but not exactly willing to be chased off. He honestly just wanted to take a nap, maybe find something to eat and be on his way.

But the other wasn't having any of it. Fins flared to the full extent, the male screeched before charging right at him. It was that which set the black mer off. Within seconds they'd already landed blows, Phantom's shoulder, to the other male's side, claws drawn, gnashing jaws, and flared fins. The posturing display continued as they circled one another before colliding again, tearing at one another with their claws and their fangs.

Upon the third collision, Phantom shifted in the most unexpected manner. His form twisted round, bringing the full brunt force of his swinging tail at the rusty mer's face. The hit knocked the male off balance, tumbling as he tried to correct his position within the water.

Another shriek drew the attention of both older mers, another brighter red mer was heading their way, looking to enter the fight. From what Phantom could assume, it was most likely the rusty mer's brother. Either way, being outnumbered when he had a more important mission, namely helping the frightened teenager, that was forced to turn tail and run. Grabbing the boys arm, he'd all but hoisted the younger mer onto his back, fins pressed flat against his form before, with a twist of his tail, he took off with a speed a marlin could envy.

He continued at this pace for what seemed like forever, passing by what looked like a small community of mers, without so much a second glance. The reasoning becoming apparent by the number of agitated cries that rang out into the waters. From the size of the community, it was apparent that they weren't simply singled to their own territories and could be social in their own right, but the sight of the jet black mer put them into frenzy. It was almost a wonder as to what he had done to cause him such animosity.

After he'd passed over the shallow reefs and into the open water did he let his pace slow, and allow the younger mer the freedom to swim of his own accord again. His form shook from having overworked itself, and blood drifting into the water from the injuries sustained. The primary one had been from the first blow to the shoulder. He'd been lucky his speed had been enough to avoid the actual hit, as it had been aimed right for his gills. Either way, he knew it would leave a nasty scar when it healed.

A tired breath escaped him, letting his form lower into the depths of the darker water. The sun still had enough strength to penetrate down into the depths, bringing about a different assortment of plants and corals. Essentially it was a lower reef, and from the smell in the water, they were drawing closer to volcanic activity, though how close they were was still debatable, as the current could carry scents far and near.

Phantom simply ignored the smell, bringing himself down upon a rocky patch with an exhausted huff. His form slumped into a tired ball. It was still another day's trek to where they were headed, he knew. But he'd exhausted his current reserves with the need to disappear from their assailants, and with his injuries requiring the rest of his strength, he could only apologize to the boy, knowing his body would pass out on him whether he wanted it or not.

Danny envied the others speed. Why had the witch given him such a long tail to deal with? It was truly annoying. Perhaps in the future he would be able to use it to his advantage but at the moment it was an annoyance and hindrance.

The boy was pleasantly relieved when the other stopped to rest but the relief ended when he heard the unmistakable battle cry. Of course, he should have expected running into quite a few upper sea mers in his time here but now he was dragging someone else into the mix of his people's war. Danny couldn't understand why he felt fear knowing he could handle certain threats in much worse conditions but he couldn't handle it now... It showed him just how weak he was...  
When another cry rang out, instincts that lay dormant within the boy began to cut loose, his fingers curling slightly as his face twisted into a snarl. How _dare_ they touch his _friend_!

Coupled with the growing feeling of hunger, he might have lost control and had tried to attack. It would have been a losing bottle but his enraged mind wouldn't have cared. But before his instincts could react the older grabbed him and practically hooked him to his back and took off.  
Danny buried his head into the others shoulder, his eyes burning slightly.

When the other stopped, he could not recognize the place at all. Just knowing that it was somewhere in which there was no one else that SHOULD threaten them, well, he hoped. Before he could do anything the other had taken a perch on the nearest rock and had passed out. The teen quickly made his way over and sat by the older and inspected the others condition.

He cringed as he saw the injury near the others shoulder. His hand hovered over it, careful not to touch it and aggravate the wound. His eyes watered when he realized that it was his fault. It was all his fault. If he hadn't been a dark mer they wouldn't have attacked them. If he hadn't been with the older mer they wouldn't have attacked him. He mouthed the words 'I'm sorry', wishing that the other could have seen it, or if the boy could talk: heard him. Tears were trickling down his face as he sobbed silently. Perhaps that was another thing that was good about his vocals being gone. He could hide his misery much easier than most.

His head hung low in shame, the fins that had long replaced his ears were laid back. He... couldn't leave the mer like this. But... His eyes snapped wide open.  
Danny knew he had a hero-complex, but this might have been crazy even for him. The boy knew the basics of magic: you give what you take, everything is connected, even magic is transferable. That last one better be true. He could use the magic casted on him before he left to heal him! The only problem was that it was the magic keeping him alive in the shallow waters. Using it would shorten the time he got to successfully complete his mission and increased his chance of death but... he didn't really care much for his own life at the moment, especially if the one who saved him was unharmed and he had gone out of there without a scratch.  
The older mers had taught him the basics of transferring and stealing the energy. It was supposed to be something that all of the shiver should know. He wasn't proficient at it but he supposed that it was sufficient for this.

Danny carefully took the hand that was closest to the other and placed it over the wound, earning a hiss and twitch at the pain that came from the contact. He took his other hand, lifting himself up slightly from the rock so he wasn't in such an awkward position, and placed it over the other hand. He let out a breath as he focused his breathing. He then took in another, cringing as he felt the tightening in his stomach; the barrier that kept that crucial part of him from expanding weakening by more than he expected.

He was pleasantly surprised when he saw the green glow go to his hands and seep into the others skin, the skin under the scales mending themselves, and hopefully doing the actual job. When Danny took his hands away, he immediately placed it to his stomach, cringing as he felt the lack of pressure affecting him.  
From what it felt like, he had just given up two days of the magic's effect on him.  
And not only that but he was starting to feel fatigued, hopefully it was from all of the excitement that the day had caused him. He had passed out long before his head had hit the rock.

Phantom winced slightly, having felt the pressure upon his shoulder. He hissed in protest, tempted to roll over in his sleep to remove the sensation. However it changed into something else, the cold sensation seeping down into his very bones. Fins raised like hackles, form tensing, and eyes shooting open, glowing an unearthly green. He knew that sensation as it crept over him, so dark, eerie, and unnatural; a sensation he felt when he'd lost control within a fight, to the sinking of ships.

He shuddered, trying to pull himself back together as he turned to look at the site of the sensation, finding his wound glowing with the foreboding, radiating green, however it quickly faded, leaving his skin mostly healed and for the scales to regrow over it. He wasn't sure what to think of it, wondering if his body had founds a means of healing himself when he wasn't looking. but he didn't have much time to think as the youth fell from the corner of his eye.

Wide eyed, he reached out, catching the boy before he fell to far down the rocky slope. The sea ahead of them was a foreboding place, and he dared not leave the other out here alone, let alone unconscious like he'd been not long before. He hadn't seen the teen take any injuries, and wondered if the fatigue from the day had simply overwhelmed him, if it wasn't for the familiar glow that dulled around the boys own form.

His eyes widened as he set the boy down upon the rocks, looking the teen over for some sign that indicated what was wrong. The first thing he'd become aware of was how distended the younger mer's stomach had become, and instantly the alarm bells went off within his head. His mind running through the events of the last day, to where he side glanced his mate talking with the youth as he played with their child. He came from the deep, the dark depths where the water grew heavy and cold... He'd come up to the surface in search of that horrid plant far too quickly, when it should of taken weeks to allow himself to adjust to the pressure, slowly rising to the surface. He bristled unknowingly, whether from dread or irritation at the lack of reasoning, he wasn't sure. Either way, he knew he had to do something fast.  
He picked him up, hoisting him onto his back with a wince at his sore fore before diving off the enclave and into the depths. The lowest portion of the reef was not as deep as the dark waters of the ocean, but the pressure certainly built up at 80 meters. The coral started to dwindle with the lack of light at such depths towards the sloping sea floor. It wasn't the miles and miles deep elsewhere, but he hoped that the difference in pressure would at least ease the pain he knew was there.

His own form flinched as the water around them seemed to press inwards; fins laid back against his form. His eyes held a stronger luminescence in the dim as he searched out a safe place to set the boy down to rest, finding a rocky outcrop just a few inches from the sea floor. It would have to do, the bottom of the reefs in this region was dangerous as they drew closer to the volcanic activity, leaving the seafloor an active mess of tectonic violence. It wasn't uncommon for vents to sprout up from right below where one would be swimming, spewing up a mess of toxic gas and burning smoke and fire.

Setting the younger male down upon the rocks, he came to rest down beside him, flinching once more from the change in sensation of the deeper water. It wasn't just the pressure that was getting to him though, but the sensation it caused him as his body felt like it twisted in on itself. In turn, the lateral line along his sides slowly flickered into life, glowing with a similarly eerie green, his eyes had followed suit, becoming brighter in the dim; his fins following suit not long after, though they were much duller, and a ghostly whisping white, seeming brighter at the base closer to his body then at the tips. To some degree the sensation was painful, more than uncomfortable, as he felt like his veins had caught fire. He curled in on himself for what seemed like hours, before the sensation had died down and he felt like he could move again.

His head turning over to check up on the boy who lay beside him, seeing that the worn out pain that had streaked his face from earlier had died down some, and the bulge of his stomach had quieted within the deeper waters. He heaved a sigh of relief, hoping that the youth would hold a little more resilience towards the shallower waters come morning, as these depths weren't the same as his home, but it held enough pressure to enable one to acclimate a bit. It seemed his form had done something similar yet in reverse; though he was known to take such appearances in a fit of rage. He let himself stretch out, muscles taunt from pain and exhaustion. Then letting his form curl protectively around the younger mer, resting his head down on the other's shoulder, he let himself doze off for a few hours.

The sleep had proven useful, though he didn't get much, it was enough to recuperate before his stomach made its protests known. A grumble held in his throat as he rose, finding the youth still asleep, only smiling in response. Children always slept so much, especially when as exhausted as they were. He shook his head slightly, turning his gaze up towards the surface, still finding the moon high in the sky, but the sun slowly making its way over the horizon to where his mate had called the east.

Picking himself up, careful not to disturb the boy, he let his form rise up to go search for breakfast. From what he'd garnered from his mate's interaction with the teen, and the fact that the child had openly accepted the fruit, that his appetite held strongly with the diet his mate preferred. Though the fact that he'd accepted the crab in a feeding frenzy also had him wondering if the boy was trying to force a habit onto himself that his body couldn't actually handle. He frowned slightly before shifting course, turning in search of something in specific.

He'd returned an hour or so later, finding the boy awake, probably fearful of his surroundings and wondering where he'd run off to. Phantom's fins flickered in the dim light as he drew near, a number of things within his arms. He guessed, he'd probably startled the teen, giving an apologetic smile, "_...Ss..sorry.._"  
Setting his catch down upon the rocks between them, he sorted out a number of different foods. An armful of clams, a bunch of different edible weeds he'd found his mate picking, a coconut, and a salmon. He just smiled sheepishly.

When Danny woke up, he felt... different, better almost. The pressure that had been building up before he passed out was lessened, still there but not as much, and his eyes burned. He let out a silent groan as he took everything in from his position against the rock he was on. It took a minute to realize that it was lighter as there should have been, probably the reason his eyes were burning. They were taking on a florescent glow in the darker waters. His fingers curled into themselves, making grooves into the rock.

Where was he? The last thing he remembered was that green light...The boy's eyes snapped completely open as everything that had happened earlier came back to him, the two upper sea mers attacking, his companion getting injured, him healing the other. The boy let out another silent groan as his vision swirled for a minute before returning to normal.

_The white haired male... Danny... where was he?_

His eyes darted, his view sharpening in the darker light but it didn't detect anything. He deeply wished that he could speak, let out a call, and ask where the other was and if he was alright. What the wound had reopened? What if the mer was attacked? What if- he didn't want to think about the what ifs anymore. He huffed before shaking his head.

He put his hands onto the rock under him and pushed himself off, easily orienting himself in the deeper waters, liking that he was swimming much easier (and hopefully faster) with this atmosphere. He winced slightly, however, when he felt something akin to a rock stretch at his bones and other organs. He put his hand over the skin of his stomach and could feel the swelling under it. He frowned as he proceeded to check his magic reservoirs. Low. Dangerously low for the mission he was assigned. He didn't have much more time left. Two days at most, one and a half at least.

He was brought out of his mindscape, however, when he felt the current shift greatly. His fins lay back as he snarled. That was definitely no small fish, nor did it feel as smooth and slow moving as a shark coming in for its pray.

He flexed his fingers, curling them in and out of a threatening claw position. This may not be the deeper part of the ocean, but here _he_ was the predator, not the other way around. If a stupid upper sea mer thought he could fight him this far down, they were going to be unpleasantly surprised.

His face, however, went completely slack with shock when he saw that it was the white haired mer carrying... was that seaweed and fish? He returned to his normal position, his body slacking in relief as he easily snapped his body around and made his way to the other.

Fenton's first priority was to check the others wounds. The skin on the man's shoulder didn't look like it was going to peel off at any second, and it looked as if it was...normal, excluding the fact that the scales still needed to come back. He checked the mer's gills to see if the other was breathing right before feeling the others stomach, deducing that it was still normal despite the pressure. He then proceeded to swim around the other to check for any other wounds which included swimming around the others tail, touching the others face and checking to see if any of his fins were clipped.

This all happened in less than a not giving the other enough time to react to what he was doing. Especially when the mother hen in him went to check the others nodded in satisfaction before darting in front of him to look at the food in the mers arms. He took two of the strands of seaweed and went back to the rock and proceeded to munch on it.

Phantom had held a bewildered expression at the boys fussing over him, having almost dropped some of the catch in the process. But in the end he couldn't help but give one of his now luminescent fins a flick before chuckling slightly, setting the catch down upon the rocks. He let his tail give a mild flick, before he was in the youngsters face.

Glowing eyes scrutinizing blue orbs of the other, whilst a hand had risen up against the boys forehead, as if checking his temperature. Seeming content with that, he'd repeated some of the actions the boy had done to him in a flurry, except he'd also checked the younger males pulse. Seeming satisfied with that, he'd nodded slightly before turning to breaking open the coconut. Upon cracking it open and crying it the rest of the way open with his claws, he offered it over to him with a curt nod. It may not of been meat, but he knew it held a high protein count as his mate had badgered him over it a number of times. And from the way the child had acted once more, he was certain it was more likely to be accepted than the rest of his quarry. The rest of breakfast was spent knawing on clams, and nibbling on fish.

Content on having recovered some of his energy, he knew they could get moving again, but there was the looming thought of the boys condition at this rate, they would make the trip there, but there was almost no chance of the child making it back home. His gaze turned towards the other, glowing in the dim with a look of absolute seriousness. And although he rarely spoke, he knew this was a matter of importance.

"_... You.. are.. aware that.. you might not.. reach.. the deep in time..._" His clawed hand pointed towards the youth's stomach, knowing all too well what was wrong with him, "_Tis why I agreed... to bring you... Do you know why... that coral is... so strange?_"

His gaze shifted to stare into the teen's for a few moments before turning his gaze out towards the deep, active seabed, "_It glows... when it absorbs the earth's magic... stores it... feeds off it... spreads it... From violence from the deep.. it grows... It does... unnatural things... _"

Within that instant he'd held out his hand in front of him, fingers curled in a violent manner before the water above his hand swirled unnaturally, twisting into a tighter ball, emitting an all too familiar green glow. To some extend Phantom had learned to manipulate magic, albeit not on the scale of a sea witch, it was still very much there, in a raw, untrained, and destructive form. He shifted the ball towards his fingertips before flinging it off, out into the open waters, lighting up the seafloor for a short moment as it did so, revealing a number of steam and ash plumes rising within the water.

"_If we reach it... we could try.. to give you more time... with the coral's magic... Risky yes... though without... there is no trip back..._" He grimaced, settling in this reality. They still had another day of travel, and judging from the teen's condition, he wouldn't have that much time left. Surfing along the seafloor would buy them extra time, as the pressure of the darker waters would provide extra support, however, it also put them in more danger. The volcanic activity would only grow the deeper they trekked, and they'd have to remain constantly alert of the vibrations in the water. but even with the added time, the weight of the reality that the deep water mer had been in the shallows too long, having risen to the surface far to quickly to acclimate to its warm, active waters. He could only hope that with their combined knowledge and the coral's boost, that they would succeed in preserving the youth's life. At this point it felt more like a race to save the younger mer, than retrieve what he was looking for.

"_ I'm tempted to give whoever forced you here... a piece of my mind..._" He huffed slightly, crewing on the remnants of the salmon's tail.

Danny had almost chuckled when the other did most of the same actions that the boy had done to the older, onto him, except much slower, probably due to the fact that he hadn't been in as much of a panic about his condition beforehand. When the other had turned his attention to the food Danny had finished the first seaweed strand. As disgusting as it had looked to begin with, it actually wasn't too bad. The boy accepted the coconut handed his way, first drinking what was left of the milk inside then beginning to knaw at the inside walls, first peeling the hairy shell off with practiced ease.

He ate as fast as his stomach would allow. He needed to get moving, and soon. He knew he probably wouldn't survive but at least he wouldn't be called a coward and quitter if he returned beforehand. His ears twitched at the others raspy voice and simply gave a sad nod. He knew that he probably wouldn't survive the moment he realized that the coral wasn't in the more obvious areas of the reef.

The boy shook his head at the question, looking at the other in sad acceptance. As he was new to the shiver, it was customary for him not to only have little to no magic in him; the Sea witch didn't want to risk him betraying her; but to also have little information about his surroundings and the missions he was going one. He was to be nothing but a slave to her as of the moment. It's the first few things of what the others had taught him, his place in their society. It would be years before he could be considered for a raise in status.

His eyes widened at the new found knowledge. He looked back down. Danny could see why the witch would want such a thing in her possession... but she had sent him to retrieve it...when she knew damn well what would probably happen to him. She loved to screw with him. She loved to play with her possessions. But she didn't like killing them. If he was right, the Sea witch would probably send another, much older deep sea mer to retrieve him before he died. He hoped.

He was surprised by the green glow, and the tinge of warmth that came with it. He looked to side in surprise as the other was able to manipulate magic and use it for battle purposes. But as he looked at it closer, he saw that the ball of energy was unstable, trying to get out of the tight ball he had created it in. When the mer flung it off, he could hear the magic losing its power and eventually dying down long after it left both their eye sight. The older was skilled enough in this type of magic to rival one of the lower ranking mages in the shiver, true, but try to face one of the more older and experienced... that would be a battle that would not have turned out well.

Fenton knew the dangers of tapping into something as strong as natural magic. It was drilled into his head by the older mers of the sands who really had no one else to talk to. It was dangerous... but it was worth trying. Danny wanted to chuckle at that threat towards the witch, he really did, but... the moment he thought about what would happen if he tried something as foolish as that... It made his skin go cold and pale. The boy shook his head. _'Too strong'_ he mouthed, wondering if the other would be able to read his lips like his mate.

He lifted himself, stretching a bit, his more bones creaking at the sudden motions. The boy twirled above the older to grab another strand of the seaweed and began munching on it again before lazily floating back down on the rock, stomach down, right behind the older mer.

Phantom's eyes flickered dangerously for a brief moment as he watched the other. Though the action wasn't in response to the other's movement, but lost in his own trail of thought. He wasn't very good at reading lips like his mate had adapted to due to his usual muteness. But he recognized the action all the same. The look he'd gained in his eyes at the mouthed words was the determined resolve to prove the youth wrong, along with his growing distaste to whoever had forced him here.

"_There is a reason the others call me a phantom..._" His tail gave a distasteful flick against the rocks. The name held a bad taste within his mouth, as it held no good within its meaning to the reef mers. He was a killer, a sinker of ships that left sailors telling the myths of sea monsters. But he was also a monster to his own kin. An almost hurt look had entered his eyes, despite the steely tone of his raspy voice. He may hate the name and the reasons behind it, but at the same time he wasn't afraid to use that status if it meant defending those around him, albeit few.

He remained silent for a while after that, letting the youth finish eating. Once finished he picked himself up and began to drift down a few feet above the sea floor, "_Stay close... and stay.. alert... everything... lives.. down here..._"

Ensuring the other was close behind, he continued forward at a slower pace than usual, though it was not due to injury or exhaustion. The male's ears were in constant motion, his lateral line pulsing with energy upon picking up on certain vibrations, to where he would abruptly move in a different direction. And his words, that didn't completely make sense at first, rang true not long after, as he abruptly turned pushing both of their forms out of the way; a plume of toxic gases boiling up towards the surface.

Phantom could only flinch slightly at the sensation in the water; if hit head on with most of these jets, it would result in either being scalded or poisoned. Grimacing, he led the other through the maze of vents, continuing on for what felt like hours. By the time they'd passed through the minefield it was almost the next evening. However, despite that danger passed, the older mer had not relaxed, if anything he looked tenser than ever.

Before them lay the source of his worries, and their original destination, like an underwater mountain range, great rows of sea mounts sprawled out into the depths, actively throwing rock and plumes of toxic gas and fire into the water in great, smothering clouds, the very water shook upon each eruption that took place, leaving them weary of drawing near. But that remained their main problem, where the coral was in this dreadful death laden place. And from the grimace that hung on Phantom's face, he knew where.

"_It grows in the devil's mouth..._" He grit his teeth, before pressing forward. Having to pulled the youth away from abrupt expulsions along the mountain face. It was just lucky that he could sense them before they came. A thin he'd learned from apparently having lived here at some point. But that was the bewildering part, how could a place of such havoc lay home to a surface mer, let alone a young one?

Turning another bend, he'd found what they were looking for. An open mouth to a vent, spilling waves of heat that threatened to make the water above it boil. Surrounding the lower rim of the vent was layers upon layers of glowing, toxic green, transparent corals. Looking like numerous crystal lights decorating the surface of the rock face, but the energy around them was apparent, as it washed off of it bone chilling waves, clashing with the vents searing heat.

Phantom had become pensive upon seeing it, fins laid back against his form, however everything on his that glowed, was glowing far brighter than it possibly should, especially the haunting look in his slit eyes. It all made sense now... Everything went back to the coral... He'd mentioned the corals ability to do strange things... And upon saying such, he'd revealed the magic he was capable of casting, untrained, wild magic... natural magic... The coral's magic... He'd gained his magic from being exposed to the coral they were here to gather, having somehow tapped into its natural potency.

Danny would have rolled his eyes at the others statement had the older been more relaxed. In his eyes, no upper mer could be worse than any of the deep sea who were born to sink ships and devour the people on top of it. And those were simply the drones. The witch was the queen. He let out a breath. If only the other could understand, if only he could speak to make him understand that nothing that the white haired mer had done in his lifetime was as bad as they had done, and what he would eventually have to do, he couldn't live on seaweed and fish forever.

The man had never met an underwater witch, and he hoped that the other would keep it that way unless the other owed him something. She was the one who took his voice for Poseidon's sake! He instead gave him a disbelieving look before pointing himself, his fins, his jewelry, and to himself in general as if to say, 'have you not looked at me?' And he wasn't even fully grown yet! His twin dorsal fins had yet to start emerging. He shook his head in exasperation as he finished the piece of seaweed before lifting up and shaking himself, including all of his fins and tail, as to get his muscles working a way, he looked a bit like a disgruntled dog after a bath.

The other was already up and going as he gave him a warning. Honestly, as they progressed, Danny couldn't help but feel that the other was a bit too cautious. That was until he felt himself being pushed away to avoid the sulfuric based gas that would probably have burned him alive. He growled slightly at having realized that they were near volcanic activity. The way the other was as taut as a bowstring did nothing to calm the younger down either. It didn't take long for him to start feeling the warmth that accompanied the emergence and detection of magic. He was becoming skittish himself. The magic was only a minor comfort.  
And the heat was starting to get to him, though he was able to hide it pretty well, he thought. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be but it was still uncomfortable. He almost envied the others resistance.

When 'Phantom' stopped he saw what had made him do so. The coral! A smile went across the boy's face as he darted forward, forgetting the danger, to reach it. He stopped when he felt the heat of the gas in front of him start to feel too hot and frowned. The boy carefully went as low as he possibly could to grab one of the translucent corals with their enchanting energy. Danny shook his head at that. To him, the magic of the coral was soothing and almost motherly. He wondered what Phantom felt when he had first come to know that it existed. He had lived here at one point, after all. He reached for the coral again, able to touch the edges with his claws but the heat of the nearby geyser preventing him from actually taking it.

Phantom looked on as the youth struggled to obtain a piece of the radiant coral. The sheer heat from the vent was a deterrent to even draw near, let alone grasp any of the plants that thrived just below the scalding water. The murky feeling he got from the coral wasn't helping, apparently whatever it was, hadn't affected the younger mer, and he was beginning to question whether or not that was a good thing. The energy that pulsed off of it, made his own form pulse in response, it almost made him want to scream as the sensation continued to shake him from the inside out. He wasn't sure if he was visibly shaking or not either.

In the end it was all the same, raw untrained power. It felt like it could devour him and his mind, and the thought of losing himself to it was frightening. His ear-fins had visibly dropped, head turning away slightly as he closed his eyes, attempting to reconcile himself; his arms wrapping themselves tightly around his form. To another, it almost looked like such a silly thing to be having a break down over something as simple as a luminescent coral. But the magic in its own right was overwhelming to those influenced by it, with little use of it. He'd not been taught how to let such power flow with him, through him, and use it as such. It just ended up curling up inside him making him feel more like a catalyst.

He only opened his eyes once more, giving a look of complete frustration before, fed up with the sensation wracking his form, swung round, lashing off a good chunk of the desired plants from their base. The action hadn't actually been meant to help the youth, which in his discomfort he'd almost forgotten was there, but there was still a decent amount of salvageable coral, now scattered along the slope below the vent rather than up in its fiery breath. It still gleamed with its radiating glow, the magic that it had stored inside still flaring with power.

He visibly flinched once he'd realized what he'd done. Had the boy been in his way, he might of blindly struck the teen. Ear's lowered, he brought himself down along the slope to help gather the fallen coral, hesitating in picking them up before, forcing himself to do so and carry them up to the boy, setting them down in a neat pile along the rocks. He looked visibly worn at this point, though it was more from being overwhelmed than it was from anything else. The plant held a strong hold over him, having left its mark upon him so long ago, the lateral line that had once been a gentle white, blazed a fiery green, as did his eyes which had refused to return to a human like status, slitted and blazing.

A sigh graced him as he attempted to resolve himself, turning his gaze towards the youth, whom had looked excited at having found his quarry. The older male's thoughts lingered on the possibilities that lay ahead of them. There was barely 32 hours left on the magic shielding the boy from the pressure changes, and despite being so low down for the reef, it was still shallow in comparison the great deep. And although the boy was excited now, he knew it was only a temporary thing as the realization that they wouldn't be able to return home with their quarry would be soon to settle in.

He wasn't about to let that happen though. Turning he brought a hand up, resting it over the boy's stomach with a look of concentration. Ignoring the look the youth gave him as he focused on the unpleasant feeling the magic held to him. He knew he would not be able to replicate the spell placed on the teen, and the boy did not know enough magic to do so himself less he'd already done so. However, Phantom could key into one thing, which was the wavelength of the magic. Being around a hotspot of magic held itself around him almost like a battery, his form acting as an adapter despite his resistance towards using it. He grit his teeth as he forced himself to accept the magic's sensation, letting it twist itself inside him as he focused hard on the wavelength protecting the boy. If he could match up the two wavelengths of magic, he'd essentially be able to feed the spell around the younger mer, lengthening the amount of time it had by increasing the amount of energy the spell had to feed off of. It wasn't the same as recasting the spell, which was something he wasn't capable of doing, but he would be able to at least give the boy a few weeks time, he wasn't about to wait and let the boy balloon up in front of him over the next few hours.

Keying into the proper sensation he shifted letting out a cry as his form exerted itself, enabling the wavelength to balance itself between the two mers, shifting the energy at as steady a pace as he could restrain. Sensing the magic wrap around the teen, enforcing the blanket of energy that spiraled around him, he continued to push the sensation along until his own form couldn't stand the connection any longer. Breaking off the connection, he stumbled, form panting as he half leaned against the rocks.

Danny sighed before turning to look at the other behind him, hoping the older could help him and was appalled at how... well, there wasn't quite a word for how the whiter haired mer was reacting to this situation. The teen looked at his companion with a worried gaze. Was it the coral? Was it the magic that was running through it? The young mer was just now realizing that not only did the older not feel comfortable around magic, but it seemed to pain him simply to be near something that radiated it. The mer's body was reacting very badly from the exposure. This was definitely not good.

When he finally unfroze himself he began moving towards the other, hoping to perhaps ease the other with a familiar presence. He was, however, unprepared when the other lashed out. His face paled as the action brought up unwanted trauma, too reminiscent of the first attack on his person in the form he possessed as of the moment. It took a while for the child to start moving again and at this, despite his rationality that the other hadn't been aiming for him, previous experience told him to keep a safe distance from the other. He back tread, putting quite a distance between them before he felt the heat of nearby geyser and stopped.  
He saw the elder flinch, realizing what he had nearly done before collecting the coral that had been sliced into and piling them up on a rock, not having noticed the others reaction to the attack to the coral.

It took a few moments before the black scaled mer even considered going near the corals. But, eventually, with great hesitance he did exactly that, putting them all carefully in his makeshift satchel. The glow immediately dimmed, being restrained within the magic resistant net; charmed especially for this particular mission.  
Danny looked at the other and saw that the magic flowing unabridged and raw within him, heard the veins under his skin flowing with the same power, affecting his physical appearance. If he didn't know better, he would've thought that the other was one of them.

The boy was pulled out of his thoughts as the other lay a hand on his stomach. He immediately stiffened, wanting the rip the others hand off his stomach, wanting the rip the other hands off his arms.

_He was in danger. He isn't safe. Must swim, most leave, must-_ His hand grabbed at the hand on his stomach, almost frantically. _He couldn't let himself get hurt again. He couldn't let him-_

The primal rant that had broken out was stopped suddenly as he felt magic being radiated off of the other's form in waves. It caused the teen's body to go limp, still grasping at the others hand, now very limp. He could feel himself growing stronger. He felt the magic within him grow. It was alluring and dangerous; the type of magic that the witch dealt with but any form of it added on was a great aid to the spell's time frame.

When he felt the connection between both of them break he was incredibly disoriented, the magic having similar effects to that of alcohol. It took a few minutes before the magic settled down within the other and he had stopped convulsing. Once the dark haired mer had gained control, he immediately curled in on himself, clutching at his stomach at the pain of feeling it go back to normal size.

He then looked left to see that other was worn out. Despite his instincts yelling at him to stay away from the other, his mind reminded the boy that the man had saved his life, more than once as well. Slowly uncurling himself from his previous fetal position he headed over to the other. Hesitating a bit before taking the others hand in his own and pulling him, as if to tell him that it was time to go. He knew that the other would feel more like himself once they were away from this place.

Phantom had continued to draw for breath against the rock face, almost dry heaving from the exertion. His form felt heavy, ignoring the pressure of the sea, as the magic had done a toll on him. It felt like all of his veins had been shredded with a white hot knife and twisted into knots. The painful sensation wracked his form with a number of convulsions. He just wanted to curl in on himself and stay that way.

He knew he wouldn't be able to stay that way however. The shifting earth below was the first sign of that. Having removed the coral from its foundation, the magic had vanished suddenly, unbalancing the flow of the activity below the surface. It was only a matter of time before the unbalance caused it to shift and react violently, most likely resulting in the area erupting. But he felt so heavy, so tired; he wasn't sure he could move.

When he felt his hand clasped by the younger mer, the tug upon his arm, he raised his weary eyes to look up at him and almost froze from what he saw. The pained, fearful look in his eyes, the desire to flee from him, and yet, the boy's jaw was clenched, refusing to just leave him there, desperate to get him out of this volcanic prison he'd been sentenced to so many years ago. He lowered his gaze, ears lowering, he couldn't bring himself to look into such deep eyes. It was almost too much of a reminder of the sheer number that had suffered because of him, and other phantoms like him. He feared he'd scarred the teen at this point.

Giving a sigh, he eventually gave into the insistent tug. Pulling his sore, tired form up off the rock bed and into the open water, he decided it was best to just follow the youth's guide away from this horrid place. It had taken hours before they'd reached relative safety, the geysers having grown more active from this displacement of the natural magic. It would balance itself out again in time, but it would continue to be fierce for the next few days.

Letting his form sink down upon a sandbar, he slumped, form curling in on itself. The soft sand was a welcomed comfort, something of the shallows he'd come to enjoy over the years. He let himself lay there, with heavy breath, blank eyes staring up towards the moonlight with a tired expression, before they slowly shifted over towards the worried teen.

"_I'm sorry..._" he sighed, rolling onto his side, his ears lowered.

The younger mer frowned, ashamed at himself for the way he reacted. He shook his body out to erase the lingering fear and reminder that the events had brought to him. Then shook his head and gave a small smile. It wasn't the others fault that he was so messed up. He hesitantly lifted the hair away from the side of his right cheek, showing three small wounds, looking like they had come from a spike of some sort. Then he lifted his head a bit farther up and revealed another scar, much larger, right above his gills, having nearly gotten them.

The boy was sure that the other knew what the scars on his face and upper neck meant.  
Danny looked down sadly before going over to sit next to the others form. He placed a hesitant hand to the others shoulder as if telling him that he could rest now. He then raised himself and swam in front of the white haired mer, taking it upon himself to keep a watch out. The wave of unbalanced magic was sure enough to keep any predators away but he couldn't be too sure.

He raised his hand, something akin to a green flame alighting in it. The dark mer then covered both ears as the energy released, sending out a small portion of what little magic he did have that was not being used to keep the spell in place. He was in possession of so little of it though that it wouldn't have even dented the spell upon him had he tried to merge some of it into the casting.

The wave was similar to a warning. In a way, it was his version of a warning screech. It would keep animals away, and hopefully mers who were stupid enough to wander this close to these parts.


	3. Of Storms At Sea

Xx-xX

Chapter 3:

Of Storms at Sea

Phantom took in the sight of the scars with a somber look. His own eyes flickering with a similar looking pain as he turned to look out across the water. His own mother had lashed out at him in a similar manner when she'd chased him from the shoal. His wounds didn't leave as much of a scar on his body as it did his mind... He could still see her face, fangs barred at him like he was a vicious stranger... he'd only been a child at that time...

He brought himself down to doze for a few minutes, feeling exhaustion trickling through him as the magic's pain ebbed away, leaving him worn and weary. All he wanted to do at that point was sleep, and too acceptance towards the boy's gesture to do so. This place wasn't frequented by many as it was, leaving him feeling a bit more secure in the fact that they would both be safe here for a little while.

He'd not noticed the boy's leave to set up a perimeter. Not until he sensed the warning the spell echo out like a threatening call. But quickly let his form relax, knowing the boy was simply trying to put up a safeguard around them. Lowering his head onto his hands, he let out a long, drawn out yawn, fangs showing before curling up and letting exhaustion take him.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, other than that by then the sun was high in the afternoon sky. A grimace settled on his features as he shifted, still not wanting to move. His form was stiff and sore, but at the least he wasn't exhausted anymore. In fact the main thing that hung as an afterthought was that he was hungry, the stress from the day before, including using a power he'd had little experience with had drained him of most of his energy, sleep had recovered what was lost, but his system was now complaining for a complete replenishment.

Sighing, he picked his weary form up before turning his gaze over towards the teen, prodding him a bit with his tail and giving a clack of his teeth together. It was a nonverbal gesture, but a familiar one none the less. In some sense it was an invite to go off an hunt. If the boy didn't know how to, he would be willing to teach the boy a thing or two about shallow water hunting. That and it would guarantee them a means of actually having something to eat.

Danny shook his head to break himself out of his stupor as he raised himself and nodded. He would have to look for some nearby seaweed for food. He smirked as a sudden idea popped into his head. Letting out a silent chuckle, he swam around the older, smacking him playfully in the face with his tail before darting out of vantage point. He continued to let the water bubble up a bit around him with his silent giggles before darting off further up and around the rock they had been resting on.

Phantom blinked, seeming completely disoriented by the action. Shaking his head once or twice to right himself, he stared off in the direction the teen had swum, almost confused. He'd spent so much of his life alone, the acts of play didn't quite make sense to him. He'd never truly gotten around to experiencing what it was like to get involved in a game, swat at one another in a manner meant to annoy rather than harm. He'd seen others interact in similar manners, but he himself had never actually gotten involved, thus it left him rather bewildered. It took him a minute to figure out what exactly was going on, before he mused, giving his tail a playful flick, green eyes watching the boy dart about. He still felt a bit stiff, and a meal was really what was on his mind, but he'd oblige the teen for now. After all, he was supposed to be in his prime, and wasn't about to go down playing old man just yet.

He shifted, giving his tail a powerful flick that sent him spiraling upwards around the rock face. He knew he could out swim the boy if he absolutely wanted to, but that was never the intention of the game. It was, if he was correct, a playful tumble amidst the sea grass, not a fight, and he'd have to constantly remind himself of that. It didn't mean he wasn't about to pull a few tricks out of his sleeve.

He let his fins lay flat, having swiveled around the rock face to lay against its dark surface, his scales all but causing him to vanish, the even deeper ebony scales, broke up the light along his form, the only part of him that would be visibly was his hair, which in the right light simply looked like some sort of plant in shallower waters. He mused, watching the teen before leaping down at him, bopping him in the back of his head with one of his fins before twisting his form round to spiral off through a patch of sea grass; a short laugh his playful retort towards the boy's earlier whack.

He kept up the playful game of cat and mouse, swimming circles and weaving in and out of the coral beds and gardens of seaweed before it settled into a peaceful calm as he drifted about on the thermal currents. He kept this up for a while, performing a number of simple feats, loops and twirls as he rode along the gentle tide. Upon one such motion, something had caught his eye before letting his form settle along the sand within a patch of weed. A single flick of his ear the only sign he made for the younger mer to join him there.

His gaze remained fixated ahead of him, as he pointed out what he'd spotted. Shifting through the weed, not far from them was a small shoal of red snapper. The fish were currently preoccupied with themselves and the food source abundant in the coral around them. They were small fish, generally hunted by humans for their meat, and it would take more than a few to satisfy the older mer, but this was more of an ideal opportunity to teach with easy prey than it was for the meal. Either way, the fish were unaware of their presence, and he was too opportunistic to miss a chance like this.

Fin's lying flat against his form; he motioned for the teen to flank towards the left, his own form stalking towards the right. He let his form half glide along the water, careful not to let his form disturb it any more than necessary. Excess vibrations were the quickest way to spook such skittish prey. He remained poised, muscles tense before, in a lightning flash of black, he's struck out from the 'brush' right through the center of the shoal. His jaws clamped onto his intended target, the rest scattering around the clearing in a panic.

Phantom was content with that, watching as some of the shoal spooked towards the teen's direction. Letting himself rest there, as he clamped down heavily upon his prey's spine, ensuring his catch.

Danny could tell that the other had been confused at the concept of play, perhaps because he had been isolated for so long, but it really didn't matter. The mer was careful not to actually hurt the boy and it wasn't as bad as the play back 'home' where they would literally bite at the others tail and side fins if they were nearly caught, or caught. He had to catch himself from biting down on the older mer's tail if he had somehow gotten behind him.

He really did have fun, seeing a lot of child in the older man. Mers never really did grow up, in a sense. Even when they had children they reminded like the child they had brought into the world. The teen chuckled as he darted in and out of the tall sea grass, his scales showing clearly among the weeds. He wished that he could blend into the rocks of the reef like his companion but to no avail, he simply didn't have the ability to do so. He didn't see the other coming as the man came at him and reiterated the action that he had done to start the little game. His cheeks flushed a bit in embarrassment, but the smile was still present.

He was startled out of his mindset when something seemed to have gotten the attention of the other mer. His eyes widened when he saw the school of fish not far off. The boy followed Phantom's direction to head towards the left as he smoothly made his way over to the edge of the rocks. It really was amazing seeing such an experienced predator go after their prey. The boy watched in awe as the other stalked towards the school and struck, catching one of them in his mouth, the fish scattering in the black haired mer's direction.

Danny's ears prickled a bit at the vibrations that the fish were creating in the water. He felt nervous. What if he messed up? What if he embarrassed himself? Self-check, he KNEW that he was going to embarrass himself. He huffed. At least he was going to try.

The fish had seemed to reform back into a smooth formation by the time he had gotten into a sort of hunting position. His nails curved into the rocks that he hid near. It was only when the fish appeared in front of him that he struck.

It was a clumsy first try, in all honesty. He wasn't very fast, his movements not precise, and he attempted to catch the fish with his hands. He managed to scratch a few of them though, and that was something to the boy. While the fish that had managed not to get caught in his claws fled quickly, the wounded ones were much slower and gave the boy a second try, this time with his mouth. He somehow succeeded in catching it after two tries, chomping down as hard as he could, hopefully breaking the creatures spine as the older male had done earlier. He looked over to the other and he shrugged sheepishly, with the fish still in his mouth, somehow still moving about as he continued to chew on it, hoping that it would just have died already.

The older mer chuckled as he watched the spectacle. It was an amusing sight as the teen floundered about in attempts to strike out at the fish. But he still had to admit it was better than his first attempts. With no one to follow by example, he'd been clumsy and uncertain. As a result he tended to pick fights with shellfish rather than swimming ones.

It took all of his strength not to lose hold on his catch and burst into a fit of laughter when the other looked over at him. The fish flopped around in the teen's jaws as he looked over at him. He just shook his head before bringing himself over towards the younger mer. Taking the fish from his own jaws, he held it out in a manner that indicated he wanted the youth to study it as he brought his other hand around to tap the base of the head, said location had the heavy marks of the older male's fangs, "_ You bite there..._"

He just grinned sheepishly afterwards, before turning to wave the other to follow him. Carrying his catch in hand this time he shifted about in search of something before coming to a pause around a patch of weed. He'd come to realize that the teen preferred a vegetarian diet, and how his mate had gone about pointing out which plants could be eaten or not. The teen, seeming far too inexperienced for his age, left him nervous towards how he had survived so long, and thus felt it was important to impart what few things he could teach to the boy before he was forced to return the teen back to the deeper waters that were claimed to be his home... he still wanted to pick a fight with the ones who sent him here mind you...

He shook that thought from his mind before waving over towards the teen and beginning to point out certain plants he could recognize, "_Sam says this one makes good... er..._salad.."

The name was obviously that of his mate, though the word he used to describe the plant struggled on his tongue. It wasn't one that really fit into the mer language as it was definitively a human invention, and therefore a human word. He just shook his head again before turning to point to another one, "_Beware of this one... it looks rich... but gives nasty stomach cramps..."_

He continued on for about half an hour surprising even himself at how much he'd retained on the subject, all the while the two of them collecting things to gather up a decent meal. It was a content little adventure, leaving him stretching out within the sands, rubbing his stomach happily. It wasn't a gorging meal, but having anything in his stomach at this point made him feel far better than he had earlier.

He then rolled onto his stomach letting his form perform a daily ritual most surface mers participated in, the art of basking in the sun. He'd yawned, resting his head on one of his arms, his double sail sprawling out to its full extent, revealing the sharp barbs along its form. The sail seemed to serve a number of purposes to the male, both in swimming, fighting, and apparently it also worked as a power house, soaking in the warm rays of the sun. The true intention of such an action was due to how much heat he needed to collect. He wasn't sure how long he'd be in the company of the youth, but he was certain he was going to help the boy get safely home. The dark waters the boy favored just happened to be colder than he preferred, and thus having a bit of backup warmth never hurt anyone preparing for a bit if deep water adventure.

Danny looked at the fish and sighed before chomping down hard in his own. It thankfully stopped moving and died like it should have the first time. Pulling it out of his mouth, he began digging his teeth in it, succeeding in removing a portion of the skin so he could get to the red meat that was on the inside. He finished up on it rather quickly, probably leaving a bunch of good chunks of meat uneaten in the process.

Then for the next, what was it, hour, at least it felt like it to him, the older led him around, showing him which types of sea grass were eatable or not, which was truly helpful seeing as once he went back home, he would be back to his strictly vegan diet. After the tour, the older proceeded to sun bathe. At least that's what it looked like to him.

The boy giggled a bit before he saw that what light was coming from the surface began to dim slowly until there wasn't much at all. Danny's eyebrows furrowed at the development, not liking what it could mean. His eyes suddenly dilating as he felt energy pulsating from above. This was one of the basic things that his kind of mer was known to look for. Energy, not magic, building up, was something that all of his kind was supposed to anticipate and rejoice in. It meant that a storm was coming. It meant feeding time. And judging by the movement of the water and the energy crackling and shifting much farther above them, it was coming fast and hard. His fins and body seemed to shrink into himself as the water grew darker with the tell tales of a fast coming storm.  
_No. Anything but this. Not now!_

Danny had wanted the older mer to know that he wasn't a real monster. He didn't want him to see what the younger mer could potentially _become_. This was NOT something he wanted Phantom to see!

He would have been screeching at the other in panic if he could. Instead, he zipped to the others side and began pushing at the others body in a panic, trying to get the other to lift himself off of the rock. They had to get to a cave. They had to find a cave _now_.

The man had probably lived near shallow waters most of his life so he didn't know what he was supposed to do at times like this either. The nearby schools of fish however did, and quickly made their way straight out of there. They may have been near a coral reef, but they weren't close enough. They were too close to deeper waters. He knew they had reached an area that could potentially go down deeper than the older mer had ever gone, and it had been only a little nagging feeling at the back of his mind until now. Worse part was that these parts weren't close to his shiver. If they were caught by another shiver, they would be torn piece by piece in the deep sea mers' mad feeding frenzy.

No, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that there _happened_ to be a human's boat; wasn't exactly sure what its purpose was; caught in the storm and was coming closer and closer to their location. He always had the worst of luck.

If Phantom thought that he was a monster now... he probably would once he saw who gave the legends of mermaids sinking sailor's ships their name.  
Thus he searched around with his eyes trying to find a place where they could take cover and hide away.

Phantom growled slightly when he found the boy pushing at him, pulling him out of his food induced nap. But sensation of panic he felt from the younger male kept him from lashing out at the teen in irritation. Raising his head, he turned his attention towards the younger mer with mild curiosity, wondering what exactly had him in such a panic, but then he felt it more than anything.

Ears pricked, he turned his gaze towards the surface, sensing the rushing tide turning into a vicious squall. The storm looming in was quickly changing the gentle terrain into a spiraling mess, not that most of the coral minded, the rough waters brought about all sorts of feeding frenzies as everything was stirred up around them. He wasn't terribly concerned, considering he was familiar with how rough the tides could become and could ride the seas with relative ease, but the growing panic of the youngster told him he should at least console the other. Though he couldn't help but get a feeling of unease, as if there was something else going on far more worrisome than being unable to swim in a thrashing sea.

Picking himself up with a grunt at the youth's incessant tugging and pushing, he stretched himself out before turning his gaze about in search of shelter. The teen having already darted off ahead of him in what seemed like desperation. He paused only for a moment upon sensing something far larger than normal shifting through the ragged seas, visibly tensing as he came to conclusion that it was a manmade vessel. However, he was forced to remind himself that this wasn't his territory, and what he'd promised his mate, he was forced to push his aggressive tendencies back and press on after the teen.

He swiveled about before letting out a short, but echoing call, waiting a few moments before waving the youth over, his form diving down along the slope. He repeated the call once more to ensure he wasn't hearing things, finding the echo the same, however much louder confirmed that he was indeed near their desired destination. Giving his tailfin a flick, the older mer dived down to the entrance, letting his fins flare up defensively as he checked out the entrance to the sea cave, it was necessary to ensure that he wasn't stumbling on an eels nest... Finding it clear, he nodded, allowing the boy in first as the youth seemed desperate to get out of the way of the storm, or so he thought.

There was still the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was wrong, and he felt his aggressive instincts to protect the youth rising to the surface. Visible as his fins were raised like hackles, fangs slightly bares as he remained coiled up near the entrance, watching the rough waters outside.

Danny wanted to yell at the other when he started letting out noises even though he knew that the older was only looking for a place to hide. He didn't want the deep water mers to FIND them. That fear was greater than the thoughts of being tossed about by the harsh currents. But the other didn't seem to understand that it wasn't just the shifting of the tide that was causing his alarm.

He was not at all calmed at having found shelter. He forced the other down when he found him looking out, teeth bared and hackles raised, until only the top of his head and eyes were showing, before baring his own teeth at the man as if to tell the other to calm down or he would force him to; or at least try, he wasn't above fighting for something as serious as this; his instincts were already on the edge as it was. If it was his own shiver, he wouldn't be panicking so much.

His gaze shifted back to look outside of the cavern, eyes moving back and forth shakily. He didn't like watching the hunts, the brutality of it all but it was mandatory for him to at least watch if he didn't participate.

The boy's fins began to vibrate as his face twisted with fear. They were coming.

He groaned as he felt the magic inside himself stir as his own sea witch empowered all of her shiver to rise to the top to feed. He was already feeling a number of them rising up from the ocean floor at record speed, with the generously given magic giving them a speed boost. Danny could imagine it all too clearly in his head. Their happy laughter filled with anticipation and relief at _finally_ getting to eat. They would be here soon, in less than ten minutes human time. The boy slumped into the cavern, moaning silently in despair, his hand covering his mouth and his eyes filled with self-loathing.

If he was alone he probably wouldn't have felt half as terrified and disgusted as he was now and that was probably what sickened him the most. That he had been so sensitized to this brutal feeding. Seeing the people he used to call his own kind get eaten. And they had to be torn to pieces before they got low down or there wouldn't be much left to feed from.

Phantom narrowed his eyes at the youth, his teeth remaining bared. The fact that the teen was panicking wasn't helping him calm down either, let alone the growing storm outside. His instincts had him tempted to put the teen in his place if he kept up.

However, he found himself distracted from the boy as the water all but filled with sound. It was then he seemed to understand what was happening, but that didn't calm him in the least. However, his wild, aggressive panic had halted, and if the other could sense his energy, he would of noticed that it had grown cold, not in fear, but with a killer's intent.

His form had tensed, pushing them further into the cave, never turning his back towards the entrance. His actions then stilled, much like a predator waiting to strike, his form partially fading into the dim of the cave, all except his burning, toxic eyes, pupils slitted with calculating anticipation. He wasn't going to go out there and fight them, the action was purely defensive. His whole form was blocking up the way out, keeping the youth safely hidden within, forming a barrier against attackers. It was a similar action performed by mother mers when they defended their young. He dared them to even draw near the cave, after all, his specialty was in ambush, an overcurious stranger would find itself attacked and yanked in if they ever drew near.

One of his ears flicked, as he could hear the teen's distress. Glancing over his shoulder, he found the teen curling in on himself, the sensation of disgust and fear all over him, though it seemed directed at himself. It clicked in his mind that these mers were similar to, or were his kind, and judging by how the boy had acted, he loathed what he was, much as Phantom did, in a different sort of way. He sighed softly, bringing his tailfin over to gently brush the teen, a comforting gesture. He wasn't about to let the boy get hurt on his watch.

His gaze then turned back towards the mouth of the cave, focusing once more on his instincts. Letting himself fade from gentle father into a deadly phantom. His form tensed up like a spring, waiting in silence for any intruder that dared linger too near.

Danny looked at the other with watery eyes before looking down and shaking his head. Grabbing the others hand, he started ghosting over it as he had done not too long back, assuming that the other would understand.

_'You think you understand what a monster is, but you have never seen one' _

His kind didn't just threaten and push around others of their own kind, kill off of instinct. He pushed the other away, not wanting any comfort. He had brought this fate onto himself. He had made himself this way. Danny let his body float down as he heard the screeches start to fill the open space. As he was used to doing so the boy pushed himself up a bit to watch as more mers poured out of the vast abyss. Not all a sleek black as he was, some with the colorings of very dark and demented versions of the beautiful colors the upper sea mers had. Though there were younger mers, looking to be around his age with the same obsidian coloring as Danny. Most had black hair, but one had a brilliant red tint to it. They traveled in groups with the others of their age, looking so very excited.

He saw one of the adults fake claw one of the children in the face to get the mer's attention, the child moving back just in time. The older mer, with her long scarlet tail bore her teeth at the boy, grabbing at the younger mer's face with her long nailed fingers and judging by her body language, she was telling him to stay put. The child must have been a troublemaker for her to have been so harsh with him...

The female left them after a while and the other two younglings giggled at the actions of the supposed mother. They then proceeded to go off playing a game that he was familiar with, _Sharks and Guppy_. It started with the traditional whack in the face with the tail and the taunting with the jewelry, purposely making the rings around his tail and wrists jingle in what most humans would consider 'seductive'. Then the proposed 'guppy' fled as the others from the shiver began joining in on the game, usually the ones obviously not assigned to lure in the prey. They nearly caught the 'guppy' many times, scratching him sometimes with their claws and screeching at the boy while he simply laughed despite the pain that he knew the child was in, and going to be in. And when the teen was caught; a slash across the shoulder; the child let out a rather pathetic growl as he was secluded from the group, he faintly heard one of them cry out that the boy was 'dead'.

Danny didn't worry too much. The boy would be rejoining the group within a few hours.

The remaining mers were headed for the human boat; they didn't even pay attention to anything else. He knew that this wasn't the only boat caught out at sea, and he knew that his shiver would be eagerly attacking it as of the moment. He could only frown, all fear and terror having drained from him, now a sense of hollowness replaced it. He tried not to let himself feel anything when the hunt began. He could cry later when no one was watching.

"_I Have..._" Was Phantom's whispered response.

He didn't like seeing the teen like this, eventually shifting from the entrance, albeit keeping a very close eye on it. He let his form curl protectively around the youth. It was moments like this that invoked the male's inner instinct to protect this foreign child; for the boy's self-loathing reminded him of himself for most of his younger years. In some sense neither of them had truly seen what made them consider themselves monsters; the boy was fearful of what he could do, and of his own kind for what they were doing, and Phantom had closed himself off, attempting to avoid a past he'd never mentioned to the mer.

Of how he used to rule over his reef and part of the open sea, taking down anything that came across his path. He'd forged such fear himself, having taken down boats with his own two hands, and struck terror into the other predators to where sharks familiar with him would flee on sight. It was power, and it kept him alive back then... but it also left him a monster in the eyes of his kin... and among humans that he'd fallen victim to not so long ago...

He let his glowing gaze settled on the boy for a few moments, taking in how the younger mer was trying to steel himself from the events unfolding. He sighed in response, resting his head a top the youth's head, "_Even born into a world of monsters... you are not one of them..._"

He gave the teen a nudge with his cheek, that despite the teens attempts to close himself off, the adult was still willing to be there for him. He'd then moved to settle near the entryway again, playing lookout. He was paying less attention to the adults at this point, seeing as their minds were focused on their intended target. His mate would give him an earful for not saving the sailors aboard, but nature was nature on the rough seas, and he had been known for eating them at one point himself. Meat was meat to a hungry guppy... adolescent or adult...

His gaze instead had turned its attention warily towards the youngsters. Despite the fact that they were children, and thus easy to overpower if need be, the cause for concern was if they stumbled upon their hiding spot. As youths, especially rowdy teens, were boisterous and would give them away if found. They were at a safe enough distance at the moment that he didn't have much cause to be too concerned, but their presence was still there none the less...

He shifted one of his ears back to listen to the younger mer behind him, knowing the boy was stewing within his own confliction emotions. Perhaps it was best if he talked it out a bit, despite his dislike of using his voice so.

"_You know... I made mistakes... in my own past... some that if you knew me then... you'd not be sitting here now..._" He sighed, not turning back to gauge the younger mer's expression. If he did, he knew he'd stop talking at the sight of those deep, pained eyes, "_I was struck... bitten.. and chased off by my own mother... and forced to learn everything on my own... I grew cold... and opportunistic... whether animal... human... or another mer... if it bled... I'd eat it... It didn't help... when... I came in contact with that magic... It took hold of that anger... helplessness... and hate... it made me feel cold... deadly... Like a madness... And yet I liked it...!_"

His tail swished slightly, his eyes having widened a bit as his fangs showed in his exclamation. Before he let his features dull into pained silence between them, "_I took on anything back then... whether it was a dozen mers or a full blown ship... it was child's play... In the end I took one too many ships... and almost paid the ultimate price when they came after me with their nets and their guns... If not for a human girl... I would not be here today.._.."

He bit his lip, lowering his gaze to his clawed, webbed hands. It wasn't his story to tell about his mate, as she was still uncomfortable about the whole change and thus he'd agreed to her privacy on the matter. But he was still honest when it came down to it... she'd been human when he'd saved him from himself...  
He was jostled out of his thoughts however, upon feeling a shift in the water. His form tensed as he stilled, watching the waters intently. The youths were about 30 meters off, still far too comfortable for his own liking.

It wasn't a strange feeling that came with Phantom curling around him. Danny had been near many clingy mers in his time like this, all of them so touchy and unafraid. He could already hear the tunes of the siren call ringing through the ocean and above the water.

The other was trying to tell him that he wasn't like them. That he wasn't their kind of monster. But the other mer had the misconception that he was born here. Oh god, if that had been the case, then he wouldn't even be having these feelings! He wouldn't have had any remorse for what he was to do.  
His own story wasn't very original... He, a human, fell in love but when he changed to be with the other, his love rejected him...Tragic but typical.  
Danny felt the nudge and opened his closed eyes before continuing to shake his head. The other just didn't understand. Then the mer began to talk, to tell his own story... and the boy's eyes widened at the last bit.

The other... had been able to resist the magic? That was nearly unheard of! Pure magic was like a spell in itself, twisting the minds of those around it and making it so very primal and dark. A great deal of respect for the other mer grew in the boy. The man had a tough life, basically being kicked out of his home and made to live on his own when he was just a child. He suddenly felt like he was an ungrateful brat. Here he was wallowing in his own self-pity when the other had gone through so much hardship to simply survive. Then he heard the other mention being caught and getting help from a human.

At that... he couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle. It reminded him too much of the way he had protected the one that supposedly had loved him from nearby marine biologists along with other outside dangers that a sea creature had no control over.

Realizing that the other could have gotten offended, he turned to look to the other before tapping his finger against his temple before pointing to himself. _Reminds me of myself._ What did he have to lose? Nothing. He had already lost everything.

When the other tensed up, he blinked before turning around to see that the teens had gotten closer. If push came to shove, Danny could always pass as one of them. It was the adults that he would have to worry about.

The older male gave a smirk in response, content to see he'd at least been able to relate with the teen. The boy was a troubled soul; they bother were in their own right. But the fact that they could have the strength to still persevere was a strongpoint, something in which gave him that spark to all but accept the boy around like a younger brother, son almost. It was almost like looking into a mirror with this child, and yet, he was his own person, with his own story behind him with all its strengths and weaknesses. He let his tailfin flick slightly, a sign that he understood.

He'd then gone back to focusing on the so called shiver outside. The sheer amount of movement had his luminescent, catlike orbs darting about trying to watch everything; though they would fix on certain clusters of them at different moments. Either way it was still a predatory analysis, his mind picking out the stronger ones from the weaker ones, calculating his odds less he got into a fight with one of them. He'd all but frozen still as he noticed a few of the teens looking their way, probably curious about the cave. He didn't move, and that was enough of a warning towards the younger mer behind him; grateful his own form faded with the rock face. However, if they drew too near, he would end up having to use other means than camouflage. But intimidating them would bring too much attention, and depending on how hungry the adults were, would depend on if he ended up having to deal with a massive fight.

Danny's eyes widened as he beckoned the older to come inside the cave before making his decision. He was probably going to regret this so much later. He took off the band on his shoulder, handing it over to the other mer. With it he was too easily recognized as from another shiver. He then pushed passed the older mer, shooting out of the cave before circling the mers, who looked surprised at the appearance of another and smacked one of the teens in the face with his tail, initiating a game.

Giving a smirk, he did the traditional gesture before swimming off to the left of the cave, still near the rocks. The teens, not willing to turn down even the smallest bit of fun, shot after him screeching and hollering at him as he made his way around the rock, once in a while sending out small flashes of his magic to give the illusion that he could screech back.

The others weren't able to swim as fast due to the fact that they weren't as used to being above the sea line which gave the younger mer an upper hand. He swerved around the rocks easily while the others with their shorter tails had to constantly turn in order to make the corners. The boy let out a silent giggle when he saw that the others had lost sight of him before stilling upon a shadow over his form from behind. The boy turned around and gasped as he saw a handful of claws coming towards him.

He barely managed to duck out of the way as he found himself now being chased by some of the adults of the shiver, only staying ahead of them slightly with the complicated maze that he had entered. He was getting farther and farther away from the shallows and closer to the area that they had previously come from. It didn't suit the boy well but he continued swimming, the others continuing their chase.

The funny thing was that they still thought that it was a game.

But the minute they realized that he didn't have a symbol on his arm, they would think that he was open for the taking. He would be taken in by a foreign shiver whose sea witch, when she came upon him, would immediately recognize the magic signature of which the spell that was cast belonged to. That wasn't something he liked to think about.

When he registered that he was no longer being chased he was far from the reef. The mers had probably abandoned chase when they realized that they were going too far away from their group.

Danny looked around, suddenly feeling the exhaustion set in. He hadn't ever tried to swim like that in his entire life; or the time he had been underwater anyway. Now he knew why. The boy pushed himself to a nearby rock and lay on it, completely exhausted. The black haired mer sighed as he remembered his companion. The other was probably furious with him.

He let out a breath as his body protested getting up. If he was going to collapse, he preferred to do so in some place where it was safer. The boy registered wandering around a bit, going a bit deeper before his luck struck him and he found a cave. It looked small as he struggled his way into the entrance, barely fitting through. The boy barely registered the fact that he was no longer breathing in water, rather air as he swam forward and climbed onto the dry stretch of rock in front of him, pulling himself up until only his tail fin was in the water.

He winced when he tried to move his left shoulder and brought his hand only to feel something warm on his shoulder, pulling his hand away to find that he was indeed bleeding. So that was why they had stopped chasing him. He was 'dead'.

It took very little time for him to flop back onto the cold rock. Perhaps he could lie here for a minute or two... The boy's eyes, unwillingly, began to close. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep in somewhere completely unknown to him.  
He would imagine that the shiver had retreated back into the depths with their feast in both their hands and bellies.


	4. Bad Magic

Xx-xX

Chapter 4:

Bad Magic

Phantom had almost lurched from their hiding place the moment the youth had leapt out initiating the game with the other teens. He stared on, form bristling as he watched the boy lead the youngsters farther from the cave, wanting to scream his lungs out at such a reckless idea. If that game turned into a true chase, the youth would have bigger problems.

It was when the adults gave chase that the older black mer couldn't stand it anymore, letting his form rocket out from their original hiding place. The youth had disappeared off into the rocky depths, having continued going out of adrenaline having not realized the game had ended. Though any wound like that, however small, would still pose a problem in these waters. The scent would carry about, and he knew that there were other things than just this foreign shiver to worry about.  
It was only a matter of moments before some of them took notice of him. One of which that drew near to inspect him was turned upon within an instant. Phantom's fins flared, in a luminescent threat, fangs bared in the warning that if he wasn't left alone he'd tear limbs off. The threat was enough this time. It was a younger male, maybe only a year or so younger than himself, but obviously not one of the higher rank. He was quick to back off; more interested in protecting what scraps of meat he'd gotten ahold of rather than picking a fight with a male who meant business.

Phantom held the reptilian hiss within his throat as the other backed off before turning sharply and descending into the depths. His form aglow in the dim, he looked very much like one of their own, aside from the fact that not a single band of jewelry could be seen on him, and the speed at which he moved was almost alien. Pushing past the group of adults that had joined in on the game, they startled, bewildered as to what had just occurred. It was almost like being hit with a rogue wave as his form shot through into the dim.

It was too deep for his liking, as the waters were dark and heavy, pressing in on all sides; and the deeper he went, the more danger he was in. The more danger the teen was in. This was foreign territory, and it was only a matter of time before the mers that had risen to the surface to feed, started coming back down, or realized what exactly had shot past them and came after him. He grimaced as the pressure caused his stomach to turn, feeling the cold sensation of the wild magic spreading through him in defense, shifting him from the appearance of a rather dark surface dweller to one of the deep as his fins came to life with the luminescent colors, his lateral line and emerald eyes burning a toxic green. The glow becoming more and more prevalent as he dived deeper, more so than the faint shimmer it had had at the depths of the sea mounts.

He paused as he reached a new depth, having suddenly lost the scent of the teen's blood. His eyes darting about in a panic as he tried to find some sign as to where the boy had gone. Gritting his teeth, he didn't like his options, knowing that one way or another they'd probably end up finding him, but trying to call for the boy in the heart of the stranger's territory was a death sentence in itself. There was also the strong chance that the boy had passed out due to his injuries, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

A snarl broke him from his frantic search, his form whirling round, coming face to face with a large, healthy, aggressive female, and a number of others that were with her. Phantom swore mentally as he pulled back, attempting to distance himself from them, only to find that the few others with her had shifted to practically surround him. He clenched his jaw, forced to bare his teeth in a defensive threat. He may be outnumbered it warned, but he was more than capable of severely injuring the lot of them if they made any move.

When the teen awoke, he was incredibly disoriented. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know what was going on. His throat was parched and he felt incredibly dry. It took a few minutes before the other remembered what had happened. His hand instantly went to his left shoulder, cringing as he felt the wound.

Danny sighed before his accidental movement caused him to slip back into the waters. He flailed for a minute before righting himself and pulling himself back up halfway on instinct. His eyes narrowed in self-irritation as he pushed his wet bangs out of his face.

Quickly ducking back into the water, he was surprised when he found the exit; it looked far too small. He had actually fit through that? He groaned a bit as he wiggled his way out of the little underwater cavern. The young mer looked from side to side to see that he had apparently gone further underwater than he had thought; far enough down that his eyes and fins had taken to giving off a brilliant glow.

And then for the first time he looked to the injury on his shoulder, his face twisting in annoyance. The wound had stopped bleeding, thankfully, but it didn't take away from the fact that it hadn't completely closed, meaning that if he moved fast he risked reopening what part of the wound that had healed. This was the reason that he hated playing the game; because he always lost.

It didn't take long before Danny's attention was drawn to the deep waters as he saw a bright light approaching him. In fact there were several of them. Then he heard his name.

"Danny?! By Ceto, is that you?!" He recognized that voice; Sedna! The familiar scarlet tailed mer appeared not too long after that. Danny didn't have any time to even close his mouth before she had tackled him in an embrace, her dorsal fins spreading out behind her.

"Danny? He's alive?!" Nyx, an older male with an emerald fin tackled him in an exuberant hug not long after giggling and whooping.

"I can't believe that you're alive! When you nearly exceeded the time limit we thought that you were a goner!" The blond male had the younger at shoulders length to examine him.

"By the way, where's that hunk of man that was with you earlier?" The red haired woman asked brushing her shoulders against the younger tauntingly.  
Danny looked at the other shocked and opened his mouth as if to yell something at her before his mouth was covered by the male, Nyx.

"Of course we were watching guppy! You didn't actually think that we were going to let you go through this alone did you? Besides, I say that it was quite entertaining, especially how you used that upper sea mer." The mer said in distaste.

"It was truly brilliant, the innocent act you put on for him. Such a success! Considering he's about to get torn to pieces in just a few seconds," Sedna added, examining her nails.

Danny, in the meantime, was staring at the them in horror. Torn to pieces?! He shook his head before tugging at Nyx's arm. The man looked down, confused.

"What's wrong guppy? You wanna go home? We're going so-" He was stopped when the teen attempted to claw his face.

"Hey! What's gotten into you?!" the woman exclaimed as she moved towards the younger and grabbed the boys arms in order to keep him from lashing out anymore. He continued to struggle, mouthing profanities and all sort of things as tears welled up in his eyes.

"What did you do to him?!" They turned around to see a new mer approach them. This one had a much darker tail then the rest of them; actually a deep blue, the dark coloring obviously signaling that he was actually quite young. He had a tan complexion despite his obvious identity as one of the deep sea mer, and reddish orange hair that came with dark blue eyes to match.

"Nothing, we swear Ran! We were just congratulating him on his first completed mission!" The blonde said confused.

"Have you puffer fish forgotten that he was _human_? That maybe your praise made him feel bad?" The two became silent at that before looking at the younger who was now crying. The three panicked at that.

"Oh no!"

"Look what you did!"

"Me?! It was-"

"Would you both shut up!" The younger of the three exclaimed in annoyance, bearing his fangs and exposing the spikes that had previously lay flat on his back and shoulders in warning.

Still angered, he took Danny's hand and placed it on his own. "Tell me what you want us to do."

The boy looked at the other and weakly shadowed the symbols on top of the others palm. The young adult's eyes widened before hardening in determination.

"Come on you two." The man said, taking the boy's hand and pulled him along at a hurried pace.

"What? Where are we going?" The other two asked.

"We got a bloody mer to save." The others obviously wanted to protest but didn't want to upset the 'guppy' any further.

The screech that tore through the water was definitively the phantom's, though the sound was completely unearthly, echoing out at an abnormal wavelength. Those with more sensitive ears were forced to cover them as it rang at decibels that all but deafened, heaven forbid what it sounded like above water. It was a battle cry.  
The sight that unfurled around the corner looked like a full on war zone; especially when a disoriented mer went tumbling past them with a startled yelp, obviously having been flung. A number of mers were circling around the reef mer, ganging up in groups of two or three when they charged to lash out at him. The white haired mer whirled round, fangs snapping and claws drawn in retaliation. He seemed to be holding his own, if barely.

His form was riddled with gashes from claws and teeth, but his eyes remained aglow, slitted pupils darting about, catching sight of the nearest attacker and lashing back in response. He'd apparently done enough damage to the others that they'd kept a wary circle around him, calculating their chances before more than one of them would attack, with more of a chance at landing a hit that one alone. This apparent tactic was currently working as the black mer was visibly wounded. However he'd yet to lose any of his aggression or seemingly, his energy. If anything, he seemed to grow nastier with each approach.

The next mer that dove at him had made the mistake of coming in a bit too fast in comparison to the others that had joined the assault. This turned out to be a dangerous mistake. As its claws slashed Phantom's shoulder, his form had whirled on the mer in an instant, fangs tearing into the other's arm before his whole body twisted violently. The attacker giving out an agonized screech before being flung off a few lengths, cradling where its arm should have been.

It hadn't stopped there though, the reef mer still held the disembodied limb within his jaws. A snarl twisting upon his face as his jaws clamped down upon the limb, the sound of the bones cracking echoing out. That however, wasn't the part that frightened a number of them, it was how the limb changed, reacting to the pressure in the water as the black mer pulled in whatever magic had remained within the limb; his lateral line pulsing in response to the foreign magic. He then spat the limb out, flinging it back towards its original owner whom stared on in a mix of pain and horror.

The sensation of wild magic shifted through the water like lightning. Leaving the whole area feeling charged with energy. But it wasn't a comforting feel that the deeper water mers associated with magic. It was heavy, intoxicating, blood chilling... madness... It started off as a chuckle before it broke out into a full, terrifying laugh between heavy pants... A sick, unnatural sneer had curled itself onto the reef mers lips as his tongue licked over his blood stained teeth.

"_I'll kill you... I'll kill you all... And BASK IN YOUR DAMNED BLOOD!"_

Danny's eyes widened when heard the roar, the promise of death coming from a familiar voice, completely in rage. He recognized it well, but he didn't want to know what had driven the other to that point.

"Please don't tell me the one screaming is the one we're supposed to save?" Sedna queried, trying to control herself. She felt the dark, so very dark, voice that had echoed, probably for miles, and it shook her from within.

Danny was barely deterred as he swum ahead of them, ignoring their screeches for him to get back over there. This was not good, this wasn't good at all. He pushed himself faster as he made a turn around the rock, exiting the maze from the entrance in which he had come. He was nearly knocked over by a couple of mers; he faintly recognized them as the ones he had taunted into playing earlier.

There were so many deep sea mers, some with their faces twisted with fear and others with pure rage.

"It looks like he can handle himself pretty well. Let's go!" The scarlet painted mer yelped and tried to swim away only to be caught by her tail.

"No. You stay with us you coward!" Nyx hissed.

"We've got to calm the one in the middle down. It looks like he's gone mad. What's wrong with him?" Ren questioningly at the darker mer, "You know him best. What's happening?"

Danny's eyes widened in horror at seeing the madness in the other's eyes, from the vantage point they had outside of the ring that surrounded the Phantom he could feel the energy. _Magic_ he realized. Conveying the message to Ren was fairly easy as the other finally realized why the water around the other shiver seemed to be so murderous.

"Did he absorb some magic from the others? Surely so little magic couldn't have had-"

"No you idiot, he's got an _overdose_ of it you dolt. He has too much running through his system and his kind isn't made to handle that much active energy at once." Nyx explained.

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"Drain it."

"And how the bloody fuck do you suppose that we do THAT?!"

"You've been listening to those sailors again haven't you."

"Wha-shut up!"

"Make m-"

"_Both of you be quiet or I will cut your tongues off and feed them to a twin pair of Hatchet fish,_" the blue eyed mer growled, the others flinching at the thought.  
Their attention was brought back to what was happening at the moment when another screech rang through the air, and another, and another. The deep sea mer were attempting a full on assault on the center male.

"They're dead." Nyx said plainly.

"You do-"

"They're dead" He repeated again.

"What do you suppose we do now? We can't do anything unless we involve our own shiver and we are not losing any mers because a reef mer drunk on magic." Sedna proclaimed.

Danny... didn't know what to do. He... was at a total loss. He really didn't want to get in between them but... The boy removed the satchel from his person, handing it over to Ren before diving head forward into the war zone.

The blue mer's words hadn't been far off as a number of screeches shook the waters once more. A near blinding pulse of magic whipped out at them as the phantom's form whirled, pulling the water with it. He continued to motion, faster and faster, the magic's pull growing stronger as the water spiraled into a violent vortex, a water spout, a tornado of current sucking in those that had charged. Many of which gave out screeches of surprise, attempting to backpedal from the sweeping mass before being pulled into it.

The screams spoke of death as the water began to turn a sickly red before the vortex burst, shooting the current outwards, scattering those that remained trying to reconvene their numbers at a safer distance. It practically rained with the shredded forms of those unfortunate, disembodied limbs and tattered bodies falling into the depths, trailing blood in their wake. Gnashing jaws and toxic green eyes burned through the dim like fire. The phantom's form shifting slightly, dispersing the blood as it continued to sink, heavier than water.

His fangs were bared to their full length, blood staining his face and claws, arms and the like. He snarled at anything that moved near him, threatening, daring the other's that remained to come at him. Drunk of magic, and drunk off blood, the crazed look that held within his eyes only burned with a satisfied, sadistic delight. Another blood curdling laugh escaped him as he took in the sight of his bloodied claws.

In some sense he seemed to be growing more disoriented, distracted with the little things. The negative side of such overwhelming magic starting to show its effects on his mind, the kind of sickening madness that had been the reason his mother had chased him from home in the first place. Whilst reef mers could all but not use such magic known to the deep, colorless reef mers were susceptible to magic, capable of using it and being twisted into crazed variations of their old selves as it consumed them...

He let out another laugh before baring his teeth at the remaining shiver, "_I'M KING OF THIS BLOODY OCEAN! SO SAY YOUR CORPSE!"_

He screeched, mock charging at a few of them. It was enough to make the less experienced ones that still remained retreat slightly. He then turned his head to the sky, letting out another earth shaking call, the water vibrating from the magic that wafted off of it. At this rate, there would be nothing left to salvage of the older mer, recessing into that of a vicious beast that could only be saved by slaughter.

Something moving fast towards him caused him to whirl round, half snarling, half sneering at the thought of someone still attempting to challenge him; his head quirked slightly upon the sight of the mer that approached him. Eyes narrowed, in his haze, the youth looked almost like an inverted version of himself, except everything had remained black. The confusion was evident as the teen would be able to find that he had approached far closer without ill effects than any of the others that had drawn in with the intention to kill.

A half murmured, "_what...?_" escaped his throat as he stared at the boy, his mind murky with the sheer overhaul of energy that he couldn't comprehend the tricks his eyes were playing on him. His reaction, then did something unexpected, as he screeched, shoving the boy away from him as he flung himself back a few lengths, his hands clutching his head, claws digging into the skin.

"_This... isn't real... YOUR NOT REAL!_" He screamed, still cradling his head as his form shook severely, his eyes unable to focus, "_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_"

Danny had been near horrified when he saw the sea of blood created by the one who had guided him so far. He was glad to see that some, smarter, mers were actually deciding to flee. Danny, on the other hand, stayed moving closer to the other who was now spouting out words filled with madness and rage.

It took a few moments for the other to recognize his presence and he could hear the worried chatter of his friends behind him, telling the boy to get his newborn ass back behind the rocks. The half-crazed mer's grin faded into confusion at the others presence, as if confused that the boy wasn't attempting to attack. Danny on the other hand simply stared at the other sadly, almost in disappointment though that wasn't the intent. He reached out to comfort the man, and if he could touch skin, then draw the excess magic away from the other.

However, the younger mer was surprised when the other flung the child away before doing the same to himself screeching about him to being there; about voices in his head. Danny looked at the other in surprise before smiling softly. The other didn't need him frowning or sending more negative energy.

The deep water mer then repeated the same actions he had in the cave when hiding from the now dead shiver. He tapped his temple before tapping his chest.

_'Reminds me of myself'_

Though, perhaps not to this extent but the boy had gone mad for a while after his shift from upper water to deep sea mer. The Sea witch had overwhelmed him with so magic he had felt like he was going to have to rip himself open. She had him locked up for a good long while after that one incident...  
The boy attempted to go closer once again.

Upon the younger mer's attempts at approaching again, he screamed, a number of profanities escaping his lips as he curled inward, away from the youth. His hands still remained holding his head; likely it was throbbing at this point, and his eyes glowed to the point where they could be seen behind closed lids. His face scrunched up in pain and a snarl as he continued to scream over and over about how none of this was real, how the teen shouldn't exist, couldn't exist.

When the boy had reached out to him again, he'd snapped his teeth at the offending hand. Fangs barred, but the hiss barely audible in his throat. His actions were however getting sluggish as his mind was now conflicting against the magic's pull and the slowing of his adrenaline making his injuries and exhaustion more and more prevalent.

At a third attempt of approach, the older mer simply shifted backwards, shaking his head repeating a mantra of, "_no... no..._" over and over again. His whole form was shaking at this point, making most movements difficult, and having all but lost control of his hands. In another attempt to get away from what he thought was a mirror image of his former self, he shook his head before crying out again, "_NO! I'M NOT HIM!... YOUR NOT...him... I'm not...me..._"

The last parts of his words were slurred, almost coming out as a whisper towards the last part. His form then swayed slightly before losing consciousness, his form starting to fall down into the depths below.


	5. Resolve

Xx-xX

Chapter 5:

Resolve

Danny really didn't want to hurt the other but if he wanted help him, than he was going to have get close to the other. It was times like this that he wished that he could talk, sing, and soothe the other in any way that he could.

When the screaming stopped and the mer began to falter, he let out a silent cry. Quickly making his way under the others body he put the others arm around his head as he swam up and up. However the screeching from below made him stop for a moment.

"Danny where do you think you're going with that thing?!" Nyx called out.

"Leave him be! We have to go! Our spells will wear off very soon and we won't be here to protect you!" Sedna frowned.

Wary of letting the magic he used to convey his message to the others touch the currently unconscious male, he pointed his finger back as far as he could and shot a wave like echo to them with a snap of his fingers. It plainly said: _I will be back once I've finished my mission._

He hoped that the others got the hint. Ren smirked before sticking his hand inside the satchel and swimming up to the other. The man kept that devil wearing smirk on his face as he put something around the others neck, the boy nodding whilst ignoring his friends strange actions, then continued back up to the upper portion of the ocean. He was far too concerned with his companion to worry about whatever was around his neck.

"Come on guys, I got a perfect place to hide this until Danny gets back," The man winked as he dove down into the depths, the other two so confused that they decided to simply go along with it. All the while asking what the mer had given Danny.

Meanwhile, the storm still raged above so the boy had a difficult time getting the other into the cave that they had first taken cover in. It was there that he found his poor abandoned band lying on the rock floor. Danny decided that once he drained the other of the magic that raged rapidly within the mer, then he would have time to care about his token.

He lay the other carefully down on the cave floor and hesitantly placed his hand over the others eyes. His body still glowed despite the fact that they were no longer in deep waters. It was disturbing to know that the other was this affected by the magic.

The boy nearly shot back when he realized just how much power had been building within the other. This event had been inevitable. Even if the elder hadn't come into contact with the dark mer on their "expedition", he would snap at someone else simply by the fact that the magic had become active so quickly; which had probably caused the temporary madness. Danny frowned. How was he going to deal with this? His reserves weren't this large. He was still far too young to take in this much magic by himself. He would end up going mad or killing himself. Both weren't too appealing. He could always seal the magic into an object. He had seen it done before and it didn't look too hard. But... he had never done it himself. It wasn't like he had another option though...but what would he use? He fingered his hair and jewelry before coming across something that hadn't been there before around his neck. That was right; Ren had put something on him before he went up to the reef. He grabbed the string and followed it before he found something that made his breath catch and eyes water.

It was the clam shell. It was the damned clam shell that had been given by the person who had taken part in ruining his life. The tears fell for a few short seconds before they were wiped away. Yes, he would use this.

The boy sighed as he put one hand over the others stomach and keeping the other over his eyes. He groaned as he pulled at the energy in the others pained form. It was honestly the most painful thing he had ever experienced. It felt like hot searing metal was clogging his veins and flowing throughout his body, shooting spikes and more spikes of it throughout his entire form. His body arched back before returning to its original position, panting with exertion, he forced himself to repeat the process.

Had it been simply pulling the magic into his own reserves, that would have been easy, but pulling the magic into an object meant that he had to make it travel throughout nearly his entire body before going into the object so desired. The clam shell was now opened and in the middle of it there was a green ball of unstable energy that continued to grow and grow with the passing second. Danny's arms were trembling with the effort to keep the flow stable. If he messed up, if the magic didn't go to the right place, it WOULD kill him. He let out a silent scream as tears of pain flowed down his face. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. He kept telling himself this but he kept going.

After what felt like hours, the boy abruptly cut off the link that he had created with the older mer and pumping the last bit of the magic into the ball which had grown to about the size of a baseball. Danny turned his hands into themselves and curved his hand in. The ball began shrinking until it was a small compact ball, the size of a pearl. The dark mer immediately grabbed for the clam, closing it before the magic could be released. The child coughed a few times before settling down. His body slumped down until he was lying on his side, his tail slightly curved in as he blinked blearily; too exhausted to really care about anything as of the moment. Finally, he closed his eyes to sleep, hoping he wouldn't be forced awake by anything or anyone.

_ He felt like he was drifting, staring off into a world of black. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, but in some sense, he didn't want to. His bones ached. Even his lungs moving were painful... Was he even breathing...? He paused, mulling over his condition in his mind; he felt detached from everything, and everything around him felt unnaturally still... calm... even if there was blood pooling beneath him into an angry red sea..._

Phantom jolted awake, heaving gasps of 'air' as he placed a hand over his chest to console his beating heart. Then everything hit him like a careless motor boat as he groaned, forcing himself back down upon the stone. His whole body felt like it was on fire from the inside out, from the magic that had seared him to the gashes that traced every inch of him.

He lay there panting, his form feeling too heavy to move. It was dark, too dark... the water around him felt too gentle to be so dark. He brought a hand up to his face, attempting to examine his claws. They felt grimy; as if he'd slipped them into mud, but the scent that reached his nostrils told him otherwise. However, he found he couldn't see the hand before him... to dark... but he knew he could see in the dark... he couldn't see...

He froze on that thought, his mind mulling over in a sort of panic. He couldn't have gone blind... He couldn't survive blind... curling in on himself, he cursed silently at himself. The magic that had coursed through him earlier had made his eyes glow with such an intensity to where they burned themselves... A shuddered sob wracked his form. How could he live like this...?

He stopped partway through his thoughts, his eyes actually catching the dull movement of his tailfin. It was a dull shade of grey, like everything else, but it was still there, still seen. He heaved a sigh of relief. His sight wasn't lost forever; it would just take a bit of time for them to recover from searing his retina... The mer wouldn't be surprised if his vision didn't completely return to him... and in some sense felt he deserved it…

He lay his head down upon the rocks, taking in slow breaths before trying to let himself sleep. He honestly didn't know where he was or cared at that moment. He could feel the warm breath of another next to him; the scent of the younger black mer letting him know whom was within his company. He just sighed once more before closing his eyes, trying to let himself recover.

Somewhere in his fitful sleep, he'd instinctively curled around the boy. To when the child would wake, finding himself coiled up in the male's arms. He was curled up into a tight ball his head resting over the small of the youth's back; long exhausted breaths escaping him. His ears were downturned, even in his sleep, and his face was scrunched in an expression of discomfort. He was probably in a lot of pain from the earlier events. But the way he was coiled in on himself, as well as up to the boy, had the instinctive look of a child trying to apologize to his mother for something grave.

His mind was likely mulling in regret, along with the fear and pain. He'd done terrible things before throughout much of his life, but he'd killed in front of the teen. Not just simple hunting or defense. It had turned into a sick and twisted game, and he'd murdered... god knows how many of the unfamiliar shiver he'd killed, torn limbs off of... young he'd traumatized... friends he'd hurt...

His form wracked with sobs in his sleep; his head burying itself into the teen's side in a mix of seeking comfort and in shame. This was going to be a long night...

It wasn't easy for Danny to wake up. Gods knows how long he slept. It could have been a few hours, it could have been days. Thankfully, it had been a dreamless sleep, something he was getting used to having while being around the older mer. Usually, his dreams consisted of nightmares, memories and flashbacks about the deal he made with the witch, his family's disapproval of what he was bound to do, and his "mate's" rejection...

The boy's eyes felt crusted, as if someone had glued his eyelids shut. As he woke up, his body began to register that someone was _breathing_ on him. He froze as he finally succeeded in opening his eyes, wincing at the natural lighting as he raised his hand to cover them on instinct. It was then that he realized that something was coiled around him, in an almost protective embrace, arms wrapped around the others waist and at seeing the scaling on the things arms, he immediately relaxed at having realized that it was the older mer. He also realized that the other's head was against his side. Danny almost let out a silent chuckle at how much like a child the man looked.

The mer wiggled a bit in the other's embrace but only succeeded in making the hold on his body tighter. It reminded him of a constrictor, except without the intent to kill. The black mer pouted at this and instead decided to settle in the others embrace until the man woke up. Well, now that he thought about it, he didn't think he could move much if he wanted to. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were burning. Every time they flexed, even unconsciously, he winced. What a way to wake up. The magic that he had forced to travel outside of his magic reserves, and probably outside the normal pathways that were specifically _created_ for magic flow, had damaged a good part of his muscles. It would take a while before they healed themselves and the meantime, it would best to keep his movements to a limit.

He looked down to the others face and his eyes widened at the pained look in the others face. Danny began to panic a bit. Had he removed the magic wrong? Had he damaged the other because of his inexperience? The child, wincing, moved his arm and patted the others face, hoping he would wake up; the man was whimpering too. The dark mer winced again, this time not because of his physical ailment, but because he realized why the other seemed to be in so much pain.

He had seen him take out and destroy almost an entire shiver, and though to an outside shiver it meant less competition for food and power, it was still death of a fellow mer. The boy argued with himself, saying that Phantom had gone mad on magic and it had influenced his actions, and not only that; but it was also self-defense. But... the other had still murdered nearly a whole shiver and had gained a number of new enemies to boot. To his shiver the mer could be considered a hero due to the fact that the boy could already hear the rumors that Sedna and Ren were spreading. Saying that he'd had been caught in the middle of the storm and due to his lack of strength, couldn't swim away in time; then that Phantom had swam up and killed all of the opposing shiver for the sake of one little dark mer.

Despite being an upper sea fish, that would earn some points in the eyes of the shiver. Also, it meant that Danny owed the man. And a debt always had to be paid.  
The boy pet the others head, despite the pain that continued to shoot up his arms, trying to see if he could calm the other down in any way that he could. The black haired mer knew that the other was feeling very guilty for his actions, even though it wasn't his fault. Phantom had built a great resistance towards magic in general and was able to control it to a level that even exceeded some of his own shiver. But there was always slip ups.

Everything felt numb... The water was still in the aftermath and his body was unwilling to move. The searing pain from before had mulled into a dull aching numbness; he couldn't even feel his fingertips, and for a moment, the thought that he was dead held within his mind. It was just so still, quiet, and everything seemed to have come to a gentle calm familiar with exhaustion.

There was one sensation he could not place; soft, warm, and repetitive. It continued to run itself over and through him in a gentle rhythm. It slowly grew, seeming to become the more prominent sensation within his mind, and the more he felt it, the more familiar it became; the gentle feel of fingers running over his scalp. At first thought, his mind wandered to his mother's caressing hand from when he was very young, to his mate when they'd first met; but the scent belonged to neither of them. It was the scent of the young, black mer; a scent that told him he was very much alive...

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking blearily. Everything was slightly out of focus, but at least it was coming back to him. It was a minor comfort, knowing he would not be cursed with blindness, and that his eyes were slowly healing. But he still felt undeserving of such fortune.

A heavy sigh graced his lips as his gaze slowly travelled up to look at the youth lying next to him. However, upon seeing the boy's eyes, he was forced to look away, seeming too ashamed with himself to keep eye contact.

"_Please... tell me... I didn't hurt you...?" _He grimaced, looking at his claws. Despite the salt waters washing away the blood, there was still a noticeable layer beneath his nails; a sickening reminder of the recent events. He could still taste it in his mouth...

It all passed through his mind in flickers, bits and pieces; but it was the parts he could remember that disgusted him. The heavy haze upon his mind, the adrenaline in his system, and the sheer enjoyment he'd gotten from tearing off their limbs. He closed his eyes, his jaw clenching itself shut in attempts to keep from screaming and throwing himself into the cave wall; not that he really had any strength to do so.

He turned away, forcing himself to breath for a few moments. He doubted the teen would forgive him, and he knew his mate wouldn't once she got word of it. He bowed his head with a heavy sigh, his gaze focusing on the blurred outcrop of the cave entrance.

_"I'm sorry... "_

He wasn't going to make up some excuse like not knowing what had happened. Despite the haze, he knew what had happened. About the madness that had slipped into his mind, and how he'd enjoyed every minute of it. After having thought he'd escaped from his past, having moved on with his life, he'd let himself fall back to such sickening pleasure killing. He didn't expect the boy to forgive his actions, nor did he feel he should. He should of fought it... he should of... could of done something to stop himself... but he hadn't...

Danny frowned when the other refused to make eye contact. His own ear fins went down in disappointment, his tail flicking a bit. He heard the hesitant question and smiled, albeit painfully, before shaking his head. The other didn't need to know that he was in pain. The mer didn't need to feel any guiltier than he already was. The dark haired boy only hoped the other didn't notice the missing magic from the man's reserves. The necklace that held it was around his neck, no longer glowing though, thankfully.

He suppressed the flinching as he continued to pet the others head before looking down at the Phantom's nails. They looked absolutely disgusting. Shaking his head, he took one of the man's hands slowly and took to the time-consuming process of raking what was left of the blood from under the other's fingernails, trying to ignore the metallic scent that wafted from the 'dried' liquid. Danny was careful of digging too deep though, as he flicked the blood off of his own nails when the flakes clung to them. Finishing from the first hand he reached for the other and was stopped when he noticed that the others eyes. They were darting around. It worried the boy enough for him to reach over and grab the others chin to get the man to look at him. Danny's eyebrows furrowed when he saw that the other's eyes weren't focusing on anything, they were spaced out.

He knew it. He must have done something wrong. He reached up to wave his hand in front of the others face, hoping and praying that it wasn't what he thought it was, when his hand muscle seized on him, locking. Danny looked to his hand, willing it to move and in response only a slight twitch of a few of the fingers. The boy's face paled, and hoping the other hadn't noticed, assuming that the mer could still see and used the other hand in its stead.

Phantom visibly flinched when the other had taken hold of his hand. He didn't wish for him to see the stains, to see the blood that ran along his jagged claws, claws that had killed, had murdered. He'd tried to pull his had away from the other, only to find to his horror, that the teen had begun to clean away the stains. He wanted to scream, cry, and throw some sort of fit, though he could not bring himself to do. He settled on letting his gaze fall upon the rock face with an exhausted sigh, his tail fin giving a mild flick in his distress.

Everything was still blurry; fuzzy around the edges or in between depending on what he tried to focus on. Color had returned to his vision, and he could see blurred shapes of things around him. He could see his hands enough to recognize the filth that tainted them, but not much more. At least he wasn't blind... just... impaired...  
He was yanked from his thoughts however, when the teen turned his head towards him. His ear fins lowered as he could just make out the deep blue orbs staring down at him. He wanted to pull away, focus on anything else. He still couldn't bring himself to look into anyone's eyes, let alone the boy's.

When another blur of motion caught in his eyes, he blinked in confusion as he attempted to make it out. It then switched, coming from the other direction and repeating the motion. It was the younger mer's hand, checking his vision...

He flinched before jerking backwards. His body finally obeying the commands his mind screamed at it. The older mer's form tumbled back a few feet, disoriented, as he stumbled against the wall of the cave. In his instinct he'd pulled away, trying to coil up defensively within the corner; the instinct of a wounded animal.

His claws dug, and raked marks along the stone as he pushed himself away. His form shaking visibly as he shook his head with a repeated mantra of "no". He'd continued this until his exhaustion quickly caught up to him again, forcing him to lie back down with a heavy heart. He didn't want to be seen like this... the child didn't deserve any of this... But the pain was still evident in his eyes, however unfocused they were...

He let himself lay there as the waters held still with tension. His mind tried to focus on the rise and fall of his chest, anything to calm himself down. In the end he just let his gaze sink to the floor, giving up, deciding he didn't care, deciding that he deserved whatever was flung at him. It didn't stop his form from wracking with another silent, muffled sob.

By the time he'd finally calmed down, his exhaustion held him teetering on the edge of consciousness once more. His unfocused gaze having shifted up enough to look over at the boy apologetically with their dull, almost empty expression. His once, brilliant, glowing green dulled to a dim forest.

Danny let out a silent cry when the other flung himself away from the other. It half relieved the boy, while the other half felt upset at the elders reaction. Had he done something wrong? Did Phantom blame him for what had happened? Was he starting to realize that those black mers... was what he was supposed to come?  
The black haired boy's ears went even lower than before as he watched the other cower like a caged animal against the wall. He wished he could talk, to say something. He felt like he wanted to cry. Even though he had known the white haired mer for only a short time period, he felt like he could relate to the other and liked the attention that he received under the man's care. The mer almost felt like... a second father as naive as it sounded. He had been without his human family for months, and he had missed them dearly. It was only natural for him to latch onto anyone who seemed to take on a more parental role in his life.

The shiver acted more like either acquaintances or very good friends. They helped him when they felt that it was appropriate, gave him pointers, but in general he had to learn everything else through hands on learning. And then there came Phantom who took it upon himself to not only protect him, but also to teach him things that would be helpful; one example, teaching him how to hunt.

Danny's eyes watered slightly with crystal like tears that shimmered in the darkness of the cave. He didn't like being shut out. And he didn't like that he kept apologizing. He didn't understand why the other was apologizing. Maybe he just needed to give the other some time to think. The older mer would come to his sense then. He convinced himself of this as he wiped away the unshed tears with his sore arms before turning tail and heading to the entrance of the cave and merely sitting at the mouth, facing away from the other. He was tired again.

The boy looked down to see the necklace around his neck and reached up to hold the shell in his hand as if it could break any second. His hands shook before he closed his eyes and closed his fist around the item, not able to look at it anymore. There was a reason he no longer wore it around his neck.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he let his mind wander to things that he always tried to keep himself busy so he WOULDN'T have to remember. His shoulders shook as his breath came out in pants, finding it difficult to breathe when the sobs that rocked his body also brought pain, both physically and mentally. His human life still haunted him. His former mate continued to haunt him. And his current physical form was proof of it all. Sometimes, when he went to sleep, he believed that he would wake up and be in his bed, on land, with his parents downstairs working on some crazy invention and his sister with her nose stuck in a psychology book.  
But that would never happen. They would be long dead before the mer was out of his prime.

Phantom remained coiled within the confines of the cave for some time. Either he wasn't able to move, or he simply wasn't willing to come out of the instinctive safety of the far corner. It was uncertain as to whether or not he'd fallen asleep, as the mer's form made no movement whatsoever, and one had to look hard to even see the other's breath.

The dull quiet stretched on for hours, until the sun was starting to head into the west, the sky shifting into hues of pink, orange and red, reflecting off the clouds that had since past; setting soft hues of amber light across the waters. Phantom couldn't even let himself think as he felt like the whole world was spinning. So many thoughts raced through his mind, so much pain, fear, and self-loathing on the forefront of those thoughts.

Why had he come all this way... why had he pushed himself so far...? Why did he keep going when he ended up falling so far back... He'd killed so many... and right in front of the younger teen... And yet that boy still remained... No matter how much he tried to seclude himself, punish himself for what he'd done... The teen wouldn't leave... Even now, the younger mer sat at the entrance of the cave, and yet made no move to abandon him to the cave's darkness.

What drove that child to stay... drove him to keep helping him... even though he knew how much of an outcast he was... a murder he was... But then... Why did he strive to protect him at such lengths... To help him in such a suicidal quest...To have approached the youth like one of his own rather than chasing him off...

_One of his own... _

It was a thought that rang clear within his mind, eyes opening as he stared out across the cave. The boy reminded him of himself... of his innocence before everything had been stripped of him when he'd plunged into madness... He could relate to the teen on a level to where he wished to protect what the child had left... He wanted him to lead a better life than he had, and in his instinct he'd inadvertently taken the younger mer under his wing... He'd treated him like a son...

He bowed his head slightly, staring off at the stone in front of him. So the boy was like a son to him... He knew there was no changing his mind set on it, not since he'd first met the teen all those days ago in his search for that elusive coral. And yet here he lay, pitching a fit like some melodramatic brat that had his favorite toy revoked.

He bit his lip, frustrated with himself before finally picking himself up to sit. His gaze was still a bit uneven, but it had cleared up a bit more in the past few hours, enabling him to focus on the young mer's back. The teen was sitting, facing the mouth into the deeper waters, looking like he was sulking. How could he let himself act the way he was, when the other, younger than himself, was trying desperately to keep himself together. It was backwards of what it should be... He sighed, picking himself up before moving over towards the younger mer.

The older mer's form came into view as he sat alongside his young companion. He remained there, quiet, staring out into the waters for some time. He looked tired, worn, aged, and it showed most within his dull green eyes as they stared out into depths. Yet, there still remained a spark within them, a sign that his vision was recovering slowly; but far deeper, showed some sort of resolve...

The quiet held for some time between them, as if the older mer feared that it would shatter like glass the moment it was broken. But he forced himself on with a heavy hearted sigh, "_I know... I don't say much... though some words hurt... even if they're easy to say..._"

He sighed once more, lowering his head almost submissively. His gaze remaining out towards the depths, "_I've done many things in my life... many that are terrible... some that you were forced to see... I don't expect you to forgive me... nor even tolerate what I've done... In some sense I don't want you to... For how can a father act this way... in front of those he considers his children...?_"

He closed his eyes, becoming quiet once more. His form shook slightly as if debating on whether or not he'd said too much, or if he'd even have the strength to continue. He seemed to make up his mind however, as his claws gripped the stone and he opened his eyes again, a pained, solemn look within them.

"_I don't know how I'll manage, even raising my own son in this world... If he'd even look at me in the same light when he learns of the things I've done... How would he cope with such things...?_" He paused once more, finally turning his gaze to look over towards the teen, "_You remind me of myself... before everything that happened that changed me into what I am... ... I don't want to see that kind of fate happen to you... And I know... I'm a terrible example... but... my home is always open to you... if you want it to be..._"

It took a while for the tears in his eyes to dry up, but once they did, much of the pain that lingered was not from the loss of his loved ones. He let his arms lie limp on his lap, far too tired to move them into another position as he continued to look into the depths.

Danny continued to stare into the depths even when he heard the water shift behind him. His eyes closed when he felt the other sit next to him. Did this mean that the other was no longer mad at him?

Then the man started to speak and everything he said blew the younger mers mind. The older mer thought of him so kindly? In such a precious way? It made the boy want to cry again, but with happy tears rather than ones that were always so tainted with sorrow and grief. A family... How he wanted to have a family. Like it was said, you don't know what you have until you lose it.

The boy's lips trembled as his eyes teared up again. Was the man offering what he thought he was offering? The other was willing to take such a misfit, such a foolish, such a... dark child into his own home? The boy's eyes closed as cold reality washed through him as the shell bumped into his chest as his fin curled into itself. He could never BE anything other than darkness. He was bound by magic, his contract, and his oath. The magic pulsing through the shell had easily reminded him of that. Danny put his hand over the others hand and gave him a forced smile. Perhaps... he had overstayed his time here... the other seemed to be just fine; he would probably make a full recovery...

It didn't take too long before the tears started to fall down his face and the smile broke in two. The boy leaned into the other and nuzzled into the elder's chest, his body shaking as he wrapped his aching arms around the others body. He didn't want to leave the only person he could call family under these waters. And when he returned to the deep... either the Sea witch would lock him up for even thinking of disobeying her or he would be forbidden from both missions and upper sea hunts for a long time.

In short, this may be the last time he saw the older mer again. This knowledge only made the other sob harder. And he never even got to give the other anything in return for the Phantom's kindness. He was just a lowly mer who was stupid enough to be enslaved by a sea witch.

The older mer sighed, resting his head atop the other's in a means to console him. He wrapped his arms around the youth's form in attempts to console him, his form rocking slightly in a gentle sway. A gentle sound came from his throat, not a mer like coo, but almost a hum as he let the sound roll over his vocal cords in a comforting melody.

His ears lowered slightly as he looked down at the youth in his arms. The child's sobs wracking his form as he buried his head into the elder's chest. He couldn't help but sigh, and continue the tune for a while longer. He knew he'd probably said too much... He knew all too well that the dark mers from the depths were all but bound to it.

He lowered his gaze, giving the child another nuzzle; a heavy sigh on his breath. He could hear the distant calls of the boy's shiver, hanging in the water as a reminder of things to come. Shaking his head slightly, he rested a hand upon the youth's shoulder, "_Come... At the very least let me escort you home safe... _"

He sighed once more, knowing that this was likely to be the last time he'd see the little jet black mer. The teen that reminded him so much of himself, like staring into a mirror... also lived within what his shoal considered a different world... And like two halves of a mirror, it seemed they would always be separate, simply reflecting the other's domain within their own.

Giving one last nuzzle of affection, he drifted up slightly, allowing his form to circle the entrance of the cave. He gave a worn, but reassuring smile towards the youth. The boy was likely not to see him again, but at the very least he wanted those last memories to be good ones, and not of blood and violence.

There was still the quivering thought however, within the back of his mind. Of if it was possible to strike an agreement with the one that held such power over the youth, and likely the rest of the boy's shiver. There was a strong possibility that the price would be steep, even if it was only for the boy to come up to visit now and again. The question was, what would he be willing to sacrifice in turn...?

He sighed once more, offering a hand out towards the younger mer. The first thing was simply ensuring that the boy succeeded in his mission, and returned safely home with the quarry that had nearly killed them to retrieve it.

The elder's attempt to comfort the boy did very little to make him feel better, in fact it only made his heart fall even lower than it already was. Even so, Danny didn't want the other mer to remember him like this. Like a spoiled child who clung to everything around him.

So the black haired mer sucked it up and pulled himself from the others embrace and looked up sadly. His tears had by now, hopefully, dried up and were filled with a type of calm sadness. Danny tried to look on the brighter side. At least... he had been able to meet the other. At least he had been able to know someone like him, yet not. Perhaps in the future, Fenton would be able to see the mer. Maybe.

But...

That would require him having a greater influence among the shiver. He would have to follow orders, he would have to become stronger, and he would have to _learn_. And he would learn. A determined spark entered the boy's eyes. He could do it, he knew he could with enough work and dedication... But that would also meant that he would have to lead raids, become a fighter, do all of the things that he had tried to swear to never do and stick to his human morals. Well... he wasn't human anymore and he couldn't live by human's rules anymore. He would eat his former kin's flesh, he would fight with his shiver to destroy surrounding enemies, perhaps lead them into battle, he would do everything and anything to gain the witch's respect and trust. He would prove that he was as much of deep sea mer as the witch herself.

It made Danny sick. What he was committing himself to do... but he felt like he had no choice. He couldn't remain the bottom link in the shiver forever. And the witch wouldn't dare cast him out... But if it meant being able to see the upper seas again, and hopefully one day the vast blue expanse of the sky, then he was willing to brutalize all of his morals. Like the phrase, if you can't beat them, join them.

Most of determination in the boy's eyes faded as he realized that this would be goodbye. He looked to the others hand before taking it with his own partially frozen one, giving a small smile. He couldn't keep crying like a spoiled child. If this was the last time the other saw him as this innocent boy, he wanted Phantom to see him smiling. The boy closed the others fist and shook his head. He had made the trip up alone; he would make the trip down alone as well. He swam down and picked up the forgotten bracer before putting it on his arm.

He wanted to give the other something to remind the man of him, something that was precious to him. He couldn't give him the shell, that much was obvious, so he instead settled for one of the many pieces of jewelry that was on his person. He settled for removing the pearl in the cage that was attached to his ear-fin and handing it to the other, arms trembling a bit from slight exertion.

It would take him a while to get back home but he would be able to.

Phantom paused as the boy looked up at him, sensing his change in demeanor and the flicker of confidence that welled up around him. Head tilting to one side, he felt confused as he watched the youth, lost in his thoughts. Whatever it was, left a powerful feeling in the water, strong with determination, and yet heavy with sadness. He knew that this was goodbye, no matter how much he wished he could prolong it; wondering if it would feel like this when he let his own child free to live his life.

Ear-fins lowered as the boy closed his hand, a gentle refusal of his offer. He could only nod his head softly before bringing a hand up to rest it over the youths. He let his emerald gaze drift up to catch sigh of the younger mer's blue, the unspoken words of be safe within his eyes. There wasn't anything he could do for this child; this black mer of the depths that had so suddenly come into his life only to be forced to disappear soon after...

He let go of the other's hand, nodding his head in solemn silence. It was only the flicker of something catching his eye that brought his attention over towards the younger mer, only to find the boy's arm outstretched, holding a pearl in his face. He couldn't help the instinctive response that came next, as his entire face flushed a beet red and his eyes bugged in a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.

He rubbed one of his arms sheepishly, his tail giving a lightly sway. It figured that the boy, being from another species of mer, and therefore a different culture that wasn't familiar with what exactly the action meant, only left the Phantom with the embarrassing conundrum of explaining it as best he could. He ended up settling with the human action, holding up his right hand and motioning to his third finger, tapping it a few times. His ring finger... the teen had inadvertently proposed to him.

He shook his head, a slightly amused, yet sad smile upon his face. He understood that the boy had meant to give him a keepsake, but such a thin would likely end up with him getting pummeled by his mate via misunderstanding. Reaching up, his hands fiddled with the back of his head, before pulling out the tie that kept his hair pulled back. Sam would fuss at him for it later, but at least it was something a little less committing.

It was just a simple hair tie; turned brown in the sun, though looking like it had once held a purple hue. It was a surprisingly human object, and there was the question of whether it had belonged to the human girl he'd mentioned had saved him in the past.

"_It'll help.. in the future._" He smiled softly, mentioning the boy's short hair. Over time he knew it would likely grow out, and even though there was less current in the deep, it was still a useful thing to have, and at the very least, it was a way to be remembered by.

At first Danny tilted his head at the others response. It was only a pearl. That was until the other motioned to his hand, the ring finger in particular, he nearly flipped himself over in surprise and embarrassment. His cheeks were beet red as he shook his head frantically and holding out his arms, momentarily forgetting the pain that had been shooting along his muscles as he denied any and all intentions towards finding a mate. He had sworn himself off to being single for the rest of his long life. He was not going to be mated, especially with someone he saw as family! The boy's continuously shaking hands patted at his cheeks, trying to get them to cool down. He was so stupid, he was so stupid, he was so stupid!

Danny was knocked out of his self-abuse when the other presented him with something. The black haired boy blinked a few times as he looked down at the object. It was a hair tie, obviously quite aged over time. He reached behind him and felt the hair behind his head. It hadn't gotten the chance to grow much yet but it was quite apparent that it was longer than he remembered. He had planned to cut it once the strands grew out of control but this would help too.

The deep sea mer took it and wrapped it once around his wrist, seeing as he couldn't use it yet. He smiled at the elder before taking the time to bow. It was one of the things he was taught to do by the sea mer. For those that were considered above him, he was to bow when he left their presence. It really was a stupid rule. He didn't know who made it, probably a left over from the original monarchy that had been prevalent in the seas thousands of years ago. He hadn't done it once to Phantom because he had never actually left the mer before, nor had he any attentions to do so. The bow was an equivalent of a goodbye.

The boy spun around quickly before the man could say anything and darted out of the cave, securing the pearl back in the cage of his earring, before heading over the deeper end, the cliff in a matter of speaking. Danny looked down to the dark waters below and his eyes shut for a moment as he made a few promises to himself. The boy let a small smile curve on his face as he turned around.

He waved to the other and, again, not waiting for the other to respond dove down into the dark abyss below, before his eyes decided that they couldn't hold in the tears that he was desperately trying to control.

His promises...

He would see Phantom... no, Danny again, and...The younger mer would be stronger the next time they met. Much stronger.

Phantom could only watch as the boy took off into the depths. It was a sudden, but in some sense a necessary goodbye. He was uncertain that he would have been able to maintain his composure much longer. As the boy's black tailfin disappeared into the depths, the phantom called out; a long, deep howl that hung on the ocean current; final farewell.

He knew not when he would see the younger black mer again, or if he would see the boy at all. But in the end, he could only hope that the boy held strong and continued to survive in this harsh underwater world. A sigh hung on his breath, before he let his own form drift upwards, towards what he considered home; to where his mate and child waited for him. And yet, it still felt as if he'd let go of one of his own... and he would never forget it...


End file.
